Hollywood loves an origin story. Know what it loves even more? A really sad, pitiful origin story. While some have complained this should never be the case for James Bond, Skyfall began delving into 007's personal life in a way we haven't seen, and Spectre promises to go even further. In fact, director Sam Mendes recently revealed to EW the film takes us back to the beginning of Bond's story, and at the end everything will be different.
“Bond has been rebooted at the end of the movie, this is only the beginning of the story. The Bond creation myth never happened. I felt there was an opportunity there: What made him? And who were the people who affected him along the way? You’re sort of telling the story backwards of how Bond became Bond.”
He adds...
“A lot of the film is a celebration of what it is to be Bond. But it’s not retro. Hopefully it’s not just classic Bond but a classic thriller.”
Daniel Craig picks up on that thread in an interview with Esquire, in which he says Bond is ultimately a pretty tragic figure, despite the clothes, the women, and the cool gadgets...
“He’s very fucking lonely. There’s a great sadness. He’s fucking these beautiful women but then they leave and it’s… sad. And as a man gets older it’s not a good look. It might be a nice fantasy – that’s debatable – but the reality, after a couple of months…”
Sort of like Austin Powers, the character of James Bond is a creation of a different time when women were considered merely sex objects. The definition of a "Bond Girl" has clearly changed of late, and Craig hopes his version of Bond is different from what has come before...
“Hopefully my Bond is not as sexist and misogynistic as [earlier incarnations]. The world has changed. I am certainly not that person. But he is, and so what does that mean? It means you cast great actresses and make the parts as good as you can for the women in the movies.”
The jury is out whether audiences want to see a sad, lonely, and tragic 007, but the tremendous box office of Skyfall is undeniable. As long as people keep showing up, they'll keep digging into Bond's past.
Spectre opens on November 6th, but for now you can check out a cool new poster featuring Bond in a rarely-seen white suit. It's like something out of the Roger Moore era, which should get Bond fans pretty excited. The skull-faced figure in the background, on the other hand, may be from a sequence that takes place in Mexico during Dia de Muertos.
