Casting news and rumours for other roles than James Bond
Australian comedian and actor Rebel Wilson says in an interview with Variety that she has auditioned for a role in Bond26. She said she had to clear some Bond-related jokes for her gig at the BAFTA Award show, and this led to a audition. This was last year. She won't say if she got the role or what role it was. All she can say was that it wasn't for 007 himself. If we belive what she says, this is interesting. I assumed they would cast Bond first and then cast around him. What kind of role could Wilson be up for? It's not Bond and not a Bond girl. Wilson is a talented performer, but I have to be frank and say she isn't Bond girl material. Other than that she could play a range of characters, but my first idea is Moneypenny.
Can this news (if true) be a sign EON is going in a more comical direction? Maybe, but comedians have proved to be good dramatic actors before. Hugh Laurie and Robin Williams are two examples of this.
Comments
In the Other Place members point out there were rumours that comedian Daisy May Cooper was considered to play M. Could it be Cooper and Wilson are/were tested for the same part? They are both female comedians who aren't Bond girl material. Maybe for Moneypenny or Q? It's possible EON is looking for actors to play the Scooby Gang without having a finished script. I suspect they have some kind of a script treatment ready, and may have since last year.
I thought we needed a thread like this. We have one on the casting of Bond and one more or less on the Scooby Gang. But there'll be news about the villain, henchmen, Bond girls, allies etc.
I think this Rebel Wilson and Daisy May Cooper stuff is just a bunch of internet and tab nothingness. Press agents, etc love to get their clients names out there and the between Bonds dead news time is always an opportunity. It's become a tradition. Wilson could easily gotten on Barbara Broccoli's radar screen for another project although the idea of her as Moneypenny could be an interesting take on things.
She is directly quoted by Variety as saying “What was really cool was getting to audition for Bond,” and they're pretty reputable. Unless she is making it up completely, which would be unwise, it seems like something happened. And it came out of her own mouth, not her agent's.
I think that her and Cooper being of similar types does suggest that there is at least one role Eon are looking to fill, which seems like positive news.
I agree. Something's going on!
This is how I read it: Wilson hosted the BAFTA Award show in March last year. There she jokes that she is the next James Bond. More than a year later she says in an interview in the respected movie magazine Variety that she auditioned for a role in Bond26 some time last year, but it was after the show. She makes it clear she didn't audition to play Bond himself. If this is a joke it's a very strange one.
Of course I could be wrong, but I believe this story. If so this means EON was auditioning people as early as the summer or autumn of 2022. It doesn't have to mean they have a script or even a treatment, but it could hint at a script treatment of some kind. She could've auditioned for one of the Scooby Gang, and that doesn't require an existing plot. But I imagine it requires some idea of the tone of the movie and maybe the type of James Bond they're looking for. By that I mean age, tone/strengths and that sort of thing.
How do other members read this news report?
It would be interesting to have a female Q. I don't see a comedic actor or actress being able to play M with some seriousness. Q can be played with some comedy to it. I'm guessing Q will be a female.
Miriam Margolyes could've made a fun twist on Q fifteen years ago
Sometimes comedians can deliver commanding dramatic performances. Who could've imagine High Laurie in House or The Night Watchman after seeing him in Blackadder? But I agree, a female Q could be interesting.
Is this the first real sign of something being done by EON for Bond26? Personally I find it promising that this happened last year. I wonder what else they've been keeping from us?
To be honest, I'm only interested in where EON intend to go with the character. The name of the successor of Naomie Harris or any other actor doesn't really count right now.
Will Purvis & Wade finally let young and talented writers take a chance ? That's my only concern.
Such a Q'ute idea !
But if EON are/we're working on casting the new Moneypenny or Q may be a sign EON at least have a good idea where they intend to go with Bond and Bond movies.
I agree new writers is a good idea now.
John Cleese being the male example.
It would suggest they are going back to a more Roger Moore style, as we saw with Brosnan's movies. Not much of a reinvention.
I'd be disappointed if all we got was Carry on Bond with double-entendres between 007 and the female characters, probably at Bond's expense considering how Hollywood has been going.
I don't want to see Bond take second place in his own film. We've seen too many films like that, and it looks like there will be more this summer, where a secondary character is the real lead. We don't need a Bond film where 007 is a supporting role to the Q'ute character.
A female Q (if that's what's happening) can be good or bad, depending on how it's done. What I'm focusing on is that this is the first sign of active work being done on Bond26, and it even happened last year! 😃
I'm not sure you got the pun. Q'ute is a character created by John Gardner to replace Major Boothroyd in the continuation novels. She appears in a few pages in each novel (like the classic Q) and Bond obviously remains the protagonist of his own missions. So what's the link between your comment and the John Gardner novels ?
It is, and also it retrospectively makes it seem like the Daisy May Cooper story was the first genuine sign of something happening.
I agree.
If the role Cooper and Wilson (probably?) auditioned for wasn't for a Scooby Gang member, then EON had a script/treatment last year. The optimist in me wants this to be the case.
Either that or they're casting that one random British comedian that appears. Does anyone know when Hugh Dennis or Omid Djalili were cast?
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Even EON having a finished script one year ago seems credible compared to this scenario...
I hope they're not going for a comedic Q again. It really didn't work with John Cleese.
But it worked with his predecessor. Lots of times. I don't mind a female Q or a funny Q. Many things can work fine if it's done well.
perhaps expectations were too high with Cleese, or he had too firmly established a persona to be believed as a Desmond Llewelyn type.
plus he was paired with Brosnan, who never could deliver the quips anyway, Brosnan shouldnt be trying to get the last word in with someone 100 times funnier than he'll ever be
"ah the legendary 007 wit ... or at least half of it" was an awkward line because it hit a little too close to the truth
on the other hand Connery worked well with Rowan Atkinson
Yeah I'm not sure full-on comedy roles/actors work that well in Bond, because the films have everyone do a touch of comedy anyway.
I agree they should avoid full-on comedy characters. But there are many examples of comedy actors who handles serious drama well. I would like to see a Q that's funnier than Craig's Q, but less comical than Moore's Q.
Whishaw is a good example for me: I thought he hit exactly the right level for my taste. He is funny and he does the jokes with subtlety, but he's not a comedy character. Getting in John Cleese to do some gags still feels a bit simplistic for my taste.
What if things are shifted around a bit. Instead of having the sexual tension between Moneypenny and Bond, the tension can be between Q and Bond. Why you might ask, because Moneypenny will be a Male. Maybe we'll get a female M again too?
Personally I want to keep miss Moneypenny female, partly for the sexual tension you mention. In my opinion Cook or Wilson won't be cast (if it happens) to create sexual tension with Bond.