6. A Strong Supporting Cast
There is still a lot of speculation about the supporting cast for the upcoming Bond 24. According to IMDb, in addition to Daniel Craig, we will see the return of Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as (Eve) Moneypenny, and Ralph Fiennes as M. With the departure of Judi Dench as Mwho held the role from 1995-2012we see a new formulation of the Bond supporting cast that reminds of J.J. Abrams' overhaul of the beloved Star Trek franchise (with opinions still out on that cast and the direction of the franchise). As we'll get into in the Re-envisioning section later, there have been mixed emotions about some of the casting decisions in the Daniel Craig-era of Bond. Opinions are divided on Ben Whishaw as a younger Q, but there is a noted intensity and subtly about his performance in Skyfall. Most consider Ralph Fiennes to be at the top of the class as an actor and presume that he will grow into a larger role as M in Bond 24. The biggest remaining questions about the cast for the next Bond film is who will play the 'Bond girl.' One popular
rumour is that it will be Penelope Cruz (who is married to Skyfall villain actor Javier Bardem). Whatever the case may be with the supporting cast in Bond 24, it may be that the best cast is the most subtle. My personal preference for a Bond cast is that they quietly supplement the action and not throw dialogue softballs for Bond's wisecracks (like John Cleese's Q). They can also be used to effectively challenge Bond (as Judi Dench's M did so often in her critiques of the Brosnan and Craig Bonds) and assist in transforming his character throughout a film. Perhaps a strong performance will seal the deal for some of the newbie supporting cast in Bond 24particularly those like Fiennes who had smaller parts in Bond 23. Keep in mind that Sam Mendes originally thought that casting Daniel Craig as Bond was a bad decisionhe later changed his mind after he saw Casino Royaleso we ought to give any of the new supporting cast at least the next film to prove their value to the franchise.
Scott A. Lukas
Contributor
Scott A. Lukas has taught anthropology and sociology Lake Tahoe Community College for sixteen years and in 2013 was Visiting Professor of American Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. He has been recognized with the McGraw-Hill Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology by the American Anthropological Association (2005), the California Hayward Award for Excellence in Education (2003), and a Sierra Arts Foundation Artist Grant Program Award in Literary–Professional (2009). In 2006, he was a nominee to the California Community College Board of Governors. He is the author/editor of The Immersive Worlds Handbook (2012), Theme Park (2008), The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nature, and Self (2007), Fear, Cultural Anxiety, and Transformation: Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Films Remade, (co-edited with John Marmysz, 2009), Recent Developments in Criminological Theory (co-edited with Stuart Henry, 2009), and Strategies in Teaching Anthropology (2010). His book Theme Park was recently translated into Arabic. He appeared in the documentary The Nature of Existence and has provided interviews for To the Best of Our Knowledge, The Huffington Post UK, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, and Caravan (India).
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