They need a reboot with a Bond in his early 30s with a new M ,Moneypenny, and Q.
I know that there is still attachment to the old supporting cast of the Craig era, but that time is over, and really was meant to be part of it's own thing.
It's time to move on with this Bond's own Felix , M, Q, and Moneypenny without Lynch or De Armas, as much as we may like those characters.
It's gonna take alot fans awhile to wrap their heads around a new continuity after 15 odd years, but a new continuity means a younger Bond and different versions of his supporting cast.
Said it before, the reboot needs to start off with Bond in the navy and being tapped up by the government for missions, we see him on his first mission, his feelings, emotions, we go on this journey... we see it from his eyes, the fear, anticipation, the waiting around, the adrenaline, the prep.. it going wrong, losing a colleague and seeing how quickly his new team move on etc. Bond looking at life differently, moving forward knowing at any moment it's all gone.
we have a side series - we see q branch, small terror cells, oo agents, bond makes a cameo, it leads up to the second installment, where bond gets to apply r put his name forward for oo status etc.
One thing I think they should do is make a real effort to get the films out no longer than every 3-4 years. I'd go with two, but that is probably too difficult in today's film environment. It is understandable when stuff happens (ex. lawsuits, contract disputes, COVID), but if things are operating normally taking 5 years+ kills a franchise's momentum. Ideally they should cast a new Bond next year and get the new film out no later than 2024.
They need to create a Bond universe, a limited series based on OO agents bookended with TV movies and theatrical releases. Bond has theatrical releases, his supporting cast is from the limited series and TV movies. Really connect it and build a world where bond can cameo on the series and other movies.
Picture BBC's 'Line of Duty', tweaked and it's oo agents and Q branch, think Richard Madden's 'Bodyguard', but he's oo5, his arc is you see how he goes from good, to loan wolf to the antagonist for Bond etc. We see Moneypenny, agent Carter style, we see her getting injured and moving to an office job - she could be in a wheel chair, get a good actress in that actually in real life uses a wheel chair, it can be forward thinking too. Not trying to be woke for the sake of it, but just representing.
It's borderline traditional to keep the supporting cast the same and only have them changed incrementally over a period of a decade or two, circumstances permitting. I don't see the big deal over keeping everyone else, personally. Even despite the little Craig-timeline pocket, I still see Bond as basically operating in comic-book time where continuity means diddly squat unless the director inexplicably wants to call back to something.
But those movies never ended the way NTTD did, which makes it hard to continue. With each new actor pre Craig it was pretty much a retcon more than a reboot, Craig was the first real reboot.
it works if James Bond is a code name not an actual name which is hinted at pretty strongly over and over in the movie like how you can see pictures of past M’s in Mallory’s office. So it’s not impossible
Nope, they made it clear, James Bond is the man... it was the last line of the chapter.
The painting was a nice easter egg, nod.
As a side note, Bond carried on duties with the navy between missions, that would be great to explore...
