There’s been an increase in activity on the James Bond movie news front this week, between the revelation that Sam Mendes begins production on his followup to Skyfall next Monday, and then more casting rumors ahead of the film’s official cast unveiling. This morning, EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment formally confirmed the cast for the film, which is titled… Spectre.
SPECTRE, for those rusty on their 007 trivia, is an acronym for Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, and is an apolitical worldwide terrorist organization led by iconic Bond supervillain, Ernst Blofeld; it was introduced onscreen in the first Bond movie, Dr. No, in 1962. However, it seems the rumor that Christoph Waltz is playing Blofeld in Spectre may not be accurate, as his character in the movie is identified as Oberhauser… though, we could easily have another John Harrison/Star Trek Into Darkness situation on our hands (especially since Blofeld is known for being a master of disguise).
It’s now official that Daniel Craig as Bond will appear in Spectre alongside his Skyfall costars Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Rory Kinnear. Newcomers to the Bond series this round include Waltz, as well as David Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) as villainous henchman Mr. Hinx, Léa Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color) as Madeleine Swann, and the most recently rumored players, Monica Belucci (The Matrix Reloaded) and Andrew Scott (Sherlock) as, respectively, Lucia Sciarra and Denbigh. Below, we have the official synopsis for Spectre.
A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
It sounds as Spectre will indeed be continuing to develop the themes featured in Skyfall; that includes Bond having to revisit his past in order to deal with his future, as well as the ongoing political battle in the 007 universe to prove that Bond and his kind are useful in the modern world. There’s also the meta-commentary about the legacy of the Bond franchise and its continued relevancy in the present-day, that comes with those story threads.
Spectre was penned by the same screenwriting team that worked on Skyfall – with John Logan, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade officially credited, while Jez Butterworth is uncredited for his contributions – and with Mendes calling the shots again, this installment ought to feel all the more like a true continuation of the last Bond movie.
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Skyfall cinematographer Roger Deakins won’t be working on Spectre, though he’s been replaced by director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema (Interstellar). The scenery will be a bit different from Mendes’ previous Bond film, since principal photography will take place at locations in Mexico City, Sölden and Obertilliach and Lake Altaussee in Austria, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud in Morocco, as well as places around London – and the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios.
One last thing to mention: Bond will, in fact, be getting a new car in Spectre, in the form of the Aston Martin DB10.
NEXT: Sam Mendes on Finishing the Skyfall Story
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Spectre will arrive in U.S. theaters on November 6th, 2015.
