The Next James Bond Will Reportedly Be A Return To Camp & Quips: "Easier To Sell Via Memes"

While the next James Bond has yet to be revealed, new details have emerged about the tone of the new era of the spy movie franchise, hinting towards a lighter, more humorous tone that could draw in younger audiences.

via: Movie Web

This would suggest that the idea is to leave behind the more brooding, gritty, and grounded approach taken with the Daniel Craig era, and revert to the lighter times of Sean Connery and Roger Moore.

This new insight into the future adventures of 007 comes courtesy of The Times, and while the report sadly doesn’t reveal the answer to the big question - who will be cast to play James Bond? - it does reveal that the franchise will “shift away” from the heavier themes of Craig’s movies, instead opting for a more “traditional” and “easier to sell via memes” approach. Which is sure to send a shiver down the spines of many a Bond fan.

“Here’s what we know so far. First, everybody I talk to — agents, actors, analysts — believes we are due a return to a Bond of quips and camp, a shift away from the Shakespearean heft of Craig. More traditional yet easier to sell via memes to Amazon’s younger demographic.”

As the outlet points out, this is not the first time that the James Bond series has found itself in flux. It took more than six years for the studio to decide what to do with the series following the release of 1989’s Licence to Kill starring Timothy Dalton, which eventually made way for 1995’s GoldenEye starring Pierce Brosnan. This is the longest gap between 007 outings...so far, anyway. Amid reports of a falling out between producer Barbara Broccoli and Amazon (during which she reportedly called the studio heads “f***ing idiots"), film industry lawyer and a co-author of "Spy Octane: The Vehicles of James Bond" blames changes in the industry for the issues and the delay. He explained to The Times:

“The Bond franchise is like a plot of land and Amazon is still building the foundations. Casting a star is as far off as choosing curtains. Covid means movies make less money at cinemas now, so any Bond film needs to be budgeted accordingly. It’s unsexy, but right now they’re working out the back-end deal.”

Chowdhury even reveals that, he thinks, The Wall Street Journal report which first exposed the falling out between Broccoli and Amazon “might have been briefed by Eon insiders” as a way to reassure “the most important audience, the Amazon stockholders."

But what of the plans for spin-offs that reportedly caused the disagreement in the first place? Rumors so far have claimed a Moneypenny project, a prequel about a young James Bond, and an origin story about how Ian Fleming came to write the novels are on the cards. While nothing is in the works at present, Chowdhury thinks spin-offs could happen, saying, “I don’t think Broccoli is against this. Eon just want to get the film done first.” Of course, as we’ve seen with the likes of Star Wars and the MCU, it doesn’t take a lot to water down a once major franchise. Here's hoping the same doesn’t happen with James Bond.

*****

If this turns out to be true, I think this would be a bad idea. The minute you start to focus group your film around what you think younger viewers might want, your film is doomed to fail.

Also as someone who has been a fan of the Bond franchise, I've never gotten camp from watching the films. Sure they can be over the top with the action sequences, gadgets, and Bond girl names (May Day, Honey Ryder, Holly Goodhead, Pussy Galore, Octopussy). And Sean Connery Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton may have quipped us with a few funny one-liners, but the franchise never teetered on camp.

It wasn't until we got to Daniel Craig as Bond where the franchise took a more serious, grounded turn.

The memefication of films is something that doesn't sit right in my gut. While the marketing may have worked for films like M3GAN, that came after the film was done.

A viral moment can't be forced or predicted. Sometimes things just happen at the right time. The only way you can get butts in seats from younger audiences, and the Bond purists is make a good movie.