Film Land - 8 Actors Who Should Play James Bond

Edited by Robert Beach 

At the time of writing, Daniel Craig has done everything outwardly possible to indicate his time as James Bond is at an end.  I say this because it’s Hollywood, and things have a tendency to be false from the start, so it’s still remotely possible Craig will have another film outing, just not terribly likely.  

With Craig now done with 007, ending on the spectacularly bad Spectre, the hunt is on for a new James Bond. As is ever the case with the recasting of one of pop culture’s most enduring fixtures, everyone is throwing out ideas. It seems every hat is ending up in the proverbial ring. As someone who writes about geekery and pop culture on the net, here are my top 8 choices for the next James Bond.

 

Cover Story - Top 15 Nick Fury Covers

Edited by Robert Beach 

Hello, and welcome to Cover Story: digging as little into comic books as we can. Cover Story isn’t exactly a new column around here as I’ve been doing “Top Cover” lists since August. now, I’m just giving it a name and making it an official weekly column alongside Comics Rainbow and Movie Monthly. With that said, let’s dive into this week’s cover subject: Nick Fury. 

I’ve already talked at length about Nick Fury earlier this week and how he served as Marvel’s super spy answer to James Bond, and how he’s been through numerous iterations in his 50-year history.  I’m mainly focusing on him because Spectre came out this week, and I’m a sucker for topicality. At the same time, Nick Fury’s various covers feature work by some of the greatest artists in comic book history, including Jim Steranko, a towering legend of the medium and concept artist for Indiana Jones. So let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on the top 15 Nick Fury covers. 

Static Thoughts - James Bond Jr.

This latest weekend has marked the premiere of Spectre, he fourth film in the Daniel Craig run of James Bond films and continuity that started with Casino Royale in 2006.  At time of writing I haven’t seen it yet but given that I write about nerdy pop culture jazz on the Internet I’m basically contractually required to get in on the fun.  The only problem is that I don’t have a dedicated movie column and James Bond actually hasn’t really spread far beyond the realm of film.  

Unlike a lot of similar heroes he’s never branched out into comic books despite his widespread popularity and longevity James has never made it to television…well, almost never.  Yes, today we’re discussing the ignominious classic of the early ‘90s James Bond Jr., an animated show set smack in the middle of the dead years between Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan that brought James Bond to the small screen as well as comic books, video games, and action figures. 

James Bond 'Spectre' Full Trailer

All things considered it’s not really that surprising it took the James Bond franchise all of the 2000s till it became relevant again.  James Bond entered the 2000s with the deplorably bloated and embarrassingly outdated Die Another Day before failing to find a substantial audience outside dedicated fans and upper level critics with the stripped down, gritty reworking under Daniel Craig.  Then came the geek awakening of 2008, which is what really set the stage for 007’s return to prominence 4 years later.  On the one hand 2008 helped re-solidify Batman as one of the most popular heroes on the planet, which goes a long way in James Bond’s favor given both characters are globe-trotting adventurers fighting colorful megalomaniacs with a pile of gadgets. 

On the flip side Marvel’s cinematic universe took over the box office and suddenly sprawling inter-film continuity and classic era fidelity were cool again.  That’s why Skyfall ended up like it did, full of recreations of classic Bond elements rather than the stymied realism of previous installments and even redefining James as a more Bruce Wayne like character with dead parents and a mansion.  Now, as we prep for Bond’s next installment director Sam Mendes seems to be doubling down on the classic series revival elements for Spectre in its new full trailer.