One of the most beloved characters in the James Bond franchise, Q, will be back for Skyfall, giving Daniel Craig his first chance to receive top of the line spy technology from his quick-witted foil. Entertainment Weekly has now posted the first image of Q (Ben Whishaw) and it can be seen above.
In the image, we see Q working in a room where the walls double as computer screens, which seems appropriate for MI6’s tech-expert. We also see that Whishaw, the chic geek with long hair, is quite a contrast to the clean cut Bond and MI6 staff we are so used to seeing. Whishaw and Craig previously worked together in Layer Cake by the way, for those who didn’t know.
The iconic Desmond Llewelyn played Q in 17 consecutive Bond films, acting alongside of every Bond except Craig. Despite John Cleese playing the role in Die Another Day it will surely be Llewelyn’s standard that Whishaw is compared to.
Whishaw is only the fourth actor to play Q, but he has one thing on Bond that none of the others had: youth. Some fans may not be happy that a younger actor has been chosen to play Q, but personally I think it fits well with the Bond of the 21st century, and with an aging Daniel Craig.
What do you think? Can Whishaw measure up to the standard set by Llewelyn?