For those ardent fans of cinema’s biggest franchises, the last few weeks in the movie industry have acted like a potent blast of nostalgia. Following up on the teaser trailers for Jurassic World and J.J. Abrmas’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, today we have learned more about the status, cast and, perhaps most importantly, that the title for Sam Mendes’ Bond 24 will be Spectre. Questions abound.
In accordance with previous rumors, those new additions will indeed include Christoph Waltz, Dave Bautista, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci and Léa Seydouz, who will join the likes of Daniel Craig, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes as the newly-appointed M. Moreover, all signs indicate that Waltz will play the film’s main villain, though Mendes revealed his name to be Oberhauser — not Blofeld, it seems.
Elsewhere, Bellucci and Seydoux are on board to play Lucia Sciarra and Madeline Swann, respectively, while Scott has assumed the roles of an MI6 agent and a Bautista formidable opponent known only as Mr. Hinx. It’s an interesting set-up, no doubt, and we’re fascinated to see how Spectre falls into place before it makes its bow next this time next year — one that will also see the addition of the Aston Martin DB10, because what’s a Bond film without a show-stopping set of wheels, right?
As promised, Sony Pictures and MGM held the special event on the 007 stage early this morning at London’s famous Pinewood Studios, where director Sam Mendes took to the stage. Opening with John Barry’s famous, jazzy score, the studios showcased several clips from Daniel Craig’s time as the secret agent, before Mendes detailed those aforementioned, juicy tidbits.
Given that Spectre is the first installment in the wake of Skyfall, it’s fair to say that it has been burdened with a particular brand of expectation — after all, Skyfall still stands as the most financially successful film that Sony Pictures has ever released — so even if Bond 24 manages a fraction of that dizzying success in the box office and indeed among fans and critics, then we could well be in for a treat come 2015.
Now that we know the full title and cast members of Mendes’ continuation, Spectre will smooth talk its way before the camera on Monday, December 8th when it will begin principal photography ahead of its November 5, 2015 release date. In the meantime, you can get acquainted with those cast members both old and new in the gallery below.
