My family has always loved James Bond. From Easter Sunday to Christmas Day, the 1960s womaniser has always been a talking point, and, like every Gen X Northern man, my dad has a soft spot for it. However, in recent years, Bond’s significance has somewhat declined. The occasional buzz about the recasting flares up now and again, as well as the recent Oscars tribute, making us ask the question: how relevant is Bond now?
The recent Oscars tribute was seemingly an effort to combine modern culture with the “timeless nature” of Bond, with Doja Cat, Lisa, Raye, and Margaret Qualley all involved in the singing, dancing showcase—an odd choice since none of them have been involved with any Bond project, past or present. There is also a large selection of Bond theme song singers and bands still around, so why on earth did they resort to picking three singers who have no connection to the films? And if a significant number of past Bond singers declined to perform at the tribute, what was even the point of doing it? The only reasonable straw the Academy would have been grasping at would be Daniel Craig’s excellent performance in Luca Quadagnino’s Queer (2024), but apart from that, it just feels misplaced. It would have felt more appropriate at the 2022 ceremony—being 60 years since the first James Bond film—and using more modern singers would have brought a more contemporary twist to the anniversary. Instead, that ceremony got a simple clip show of the films, not exactly a deserved celebration of such an iconic character. Bond deserves a better Academy tribute than this, featuring familiar faces and voices—a reminder of a Bond that may soon become unfamiliar to the next generation.
With the news of the Broccolis selling the rights to Amazon and the debates over new casting and whether Bond should remain male and British, Bond has always remained in the public eye. Articles on rumoured casting have ranged from Henry Cavill (too muscular), Paul Mescal (too young), and Idris Elba (too old)—all actors who are too famous to be cast as the martini-loving spy. All previous casting for Bond has been relatively small actors or total unknowns, and I would be surprised if they went for a big Hollywood name, but maybe Amazon will go for a different, safer route, creating a rather big shake rather than a stir.
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