Note: this is all just fun and games really, most of these aren't realistic at all. Also, in an ideal parallel universe we'd get Orlando Bloom as 007, Danny Dyer as a villain, and a Kermode review on that, but alas such nightmares were never to be.
20. Henry Golding as 007, directed by Chad Stahelski (John Wick series)
Plot: While on holiday in Los Angeles, James Bond (Henry Golding) gets a call from MI6 telling him to investigate a wealthy Hollywood producer (Bryan Cranston) for illicit arm trade dealings he's hiding under the cover of a WWII feature film. Aiding him on his venture is a movie star (Blake Lively) who has more than a few bones to pick with the producer and his entourage of stuntmen.
Style of Bond film: A bit cheesy, action-packed extravaganza. Seeing as after Snake Eyes Golding will definitely be in shape and in form for a lot of action, this seems like the ideal sort of venture, breezy, not too serious and just plain fun.
Bond theme song by: Lenny Kravitz
19. Aaron Taylor-Johnson as 007, directed by Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth)
Plot: James Bond (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is sent on a seemingly routine mission to provide security for a celebrity animal conservationist (Michael Fassbender) after an assassination attempt on him, only for it to turn into a deeply dangerous when it turns out the animal conservation is a front for some darkly troubling secrets, and its owner has more than a few screws loose. Rose Leslie co-stars as a reporter who begins helping out Bond with his investigation.
Style of Bond film: A dark, stylish, moody atmospheric piece which places its focus mainly upon the intensity of the investigation as opposed to huge set pieces, and giving Fassbender an acting showcase as an unhinged secret agent whose found a unique pastime of his own.
Bond theme song by: The Pretty Reckless
18. Jack Huston as 007, directed by Miguel Sapochnik (Game of Thrones)
Plot: Post-WWII. Royal Navy Reserve veteran James Bond (Jack Huston) is recruited into the MI6 and is soon sent to Paris to kill a double agent. Bond's confidence at the apparent ease of the mission soon disappates as he is pursued across the city by the double agent's mysterious and vengeful partner (Gwendoline Christie), who is in turn being pursued by a young French immigrant (Pom Klementieff) whose family were killed by her.
Style of Bond film: visually arresting cat-and-mouse chase across beautiful locations which builds up to a grand finale with a lot of fisticuffs and body blows, with Sapochnik giving Christie the well-deserved action showcase she's been deprived of by both Game of Thrones AND Star Wars.
Bond theme song by: Lana del Rey
17. Joe Alwyn as 007, directed by Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt, Far From the Madding Crowd)
Plot: Used as a scapegoat by both the CIA and MI6 in an undercover operation to capture a terrorist, a Russian business tycoon (Willem Dafoe) is left with his reputation in tatters, estranged from his family, and declared to be a traitor by his government. With neither organisation willing to admit their involvement, the tycoon reluctantly wages war against both organisations with his shady underworld contacts, resulting in them sending out a fairly inexperienced James Bond (Joe Alwyn) and his CIA counterpart (Angela Sarafyan), to dispatch him with extreme prejudice.
Style of Bond film: A noir-esque journey into the muddying of waters between right and wrong as the two agents' sense of morality and loyalty to their respective organisations is put under question as the 'villain' they are sent to kill reveals increasingly sympathetic aspects.
Bond theme song by: Florence Welch
16. Sam Claflin as 007, directed by Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill, Rocketman)
Plot: James Bond (Sam Claflin) meets and falls for an aspiring singer (Tessa Thompson) while on a seemingly fairly routine mission regarding cartels in South America. Staying behind after the completion of the mission, he begins to unravel alongside her a series of nasty drug related murders blamed on the locals which have been engineered by a rogue disavowed DEA agent (Cillian Murphy) engineering a convoluted plan to get even with the MI6.
Style of Bond film: I'm aware that Murphy and Claflin played adversaries on the last season of Peaky Blinders, so this could be pretty cool recurring pair. I'd like to see this as essentially a more tonally balanced version of Licence to Kill (a film I do think is quite underrated), with maybe even a cameo by Benicio del Toro as the drug lord Murphy's rogue agent murders to take over the operation.
Bond theme song by: Tessa Thompson
15. Dev Patel as 007, directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life of Pi)
Plot: James Bond (Dev Patel) is sent to investigate an Indian businessman (Irrfan Khan) whom the MI6 suspects of having ties to a series of virtual heists. Upon arrival in India however he is soon thrust into a dangerous game of wits with a computer prodigy-turned-hacker (Naomi Scott) who's playing countries against one another just for the fun of it, and Bond and the original suspect have to team up to take her plans down.
Style of Bond film: With just the right touch of cheesiness and camp to the proceedings without compromising the suspense, and visually sumptuous, audience pleasing fun against sweeping locales.
Bond theme song by: Suresh Peters
14. Luke Evans as 007, directed by Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur, Journeyman)
Plot: A British politician (Paddy Considine) has been working undercover for many years on a plan to eviscerate MI6 for good, and plans to involve his close friend James Bond (Luke Evans) on it as an unwitting pawn. Unbeknowst to the politician, Bond discovers the conspiracy when when tracking down and taking into custody a dangerous international assassin (Sylvia Hoeks), and the two decide to covertly take down the operation as forces from all sides begin to close in on them.
Style of Bond film: The blue Considine approach for the opening scenes of dealing with British bureaucracy before gradually escalating into conspiracy thriller thrills, chases and fights, which I feel like Considine as a director would probably have a knack at doing even though his usual genre is more low-key fare.
Bond theme song by: Luke Evans
13. Callum Turner as 007, directed by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man)
Plot: James Bond (Callum Turner) receives a mysterious invitation to a highly coveted Swiss ski resort by his former prep school housemaster (Michael McElhatton), only to be trapped upon arrival to help him with some cheeky nasty villainous plans. Unable to contact MI6, Bond must rely on his wits, a limited assortment of gadgets, and a quirky fast-talking American expatriate (Emma Stone) who's the only other visitor at the resort he can trust.
Style of Bond film: A sort of homage to Stanley Donlen's Charade (1963) starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. A comedic screwball spy thriller with fun bits like Turner having to fight some particularly well-trained rugby boys and Stone faking a British accent to ingratiate herself with McElhatton's villain.
Bond theme song by:
12. Dan Stevens as 007, directed by Werner Herzog (Nosferatu the Vampyre, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans)
Plot: Cold War, 1960s. An East German Intelligence Service agent (Alexandra Maria Lara) defects to the MI6. James Bond (Dan Stevens) who shares a history with the defecting agent from a previous mission, is sent to ensure the process of defection goes smoothly - which of course, it does not, as her father, a retired former high ranking intelligence officer (Werner Herzog) reluctantly accepts a mission to lead a team to take her out of commission.
Style of Bond film: A switcheroo of the John le Carre novel The Spy Who Came In From the Cold with a cynical yet also humanist view of Bond's vulnerabilities, while also having fun in depicting the tense battle of wits between British and East German intelligence against a Cold War backdrop.
Bond theme song by: Danny Elfman
11. Matthias Schoenaerts as 007, directed by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook, The Nightingale)
Plot: A disgruntled James Bond (Matthias Schoenaerts), placed under suspension by MI6 for excessive force in a failed mission to capture a psychotic playboy millionaire with terrorist connections (Shia Labeouf). Out of boredom and the moody British weather decides to pay a visit to a former flame (Samara Weaving) in sunny Australia. To his surprise: she's not too pleased to see him, and she's taken on a new profession: bounty hunting. When Labeouf's playboy millionaire unexpectedly arrives in Australia with a huge bounty on his head, the two begin a race to track him down.
Style of Bond film: Gritty and violent with a strong streak of dark humour and playfulness in the interactions between British secret agent and Aussie bounty hunter. Also to note that this would have a very distinct vibe with a very atypical Bond (though Schoenaerts will of course do a perfect British accent), and a unique dynamic in a whole narrative centred around an extended chasedown.
Bond theme song by: Nick Cave
10. Idris Elba as 007, directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code)
Plot: An infamous fringe scientist (Sam Rockwell), upon discovering details about a virus coverup, blackmails the American government into getting assigned to a powerful position within the CIA science division, and proceeds to go apeshit crazy with all manner of lethal gadgets, superpowered agents, and crazy skyfighters. It's up to James Bond (Idris Elba) and a smooth-talking British scientist with a weakness for explosions (Michelle Dockery) to take down Rockwell's nutcase scientist and save the day.
Style of Bond film: A combination of Roger Moore and Daniel Craig, so to speak, with ludicrous and outrageous sci-fi dumbness merged with Elba's beastly Bond taking care of business. A big issue with a lot of Jones' latest films is they bog themselves down with too much 'explanations' and attempts at intellectualism. I'd love to see him tackle something big and ridiculous and fun like this with the great Rockwell at the helm.
Bond theme song by: The Weeknd
9. Henry Cavill as 007, directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kingsman)
Plot: James Bond (Henry Cavill) investigates a recently murdered billionaire's daughter (Riley Keough) and her stepmother (Cate Blanchett) who's a descendant of an infamous Nazi scientist (also Cate Blanchett) who plans to usurp the billions into her plan for world domination. As you do, foiling the plan requires travelling worldwide.
Style of Bond film: Also more OTT Bond-ness but more of the Sean Connery style of ridiculousness. Beautiful locales, shirtless poolside scenes galore, over the top accents, explosive action sequences, basically Man from U.N.C.L.E except Cavill, who is certainly great at doing smarmy charm and being physically imposing, gets to use his normal accent.
Bond theme song by: Queens of the Stone Age
8. George MacKay as 007, directed by Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog, Paterson)
Plot: After getting suspended from duty after an ill-fated mission, instead of going rogue James Bond (George MacKay) decides to take a break and go back to his native Scotland mansion, Skyfall. There he finds one of MI6's most wanted, Blofeld (Tom Waits) living a secluded quiet life in the local village with his son (Jack White), and reconnects with his childhood sweetheart (Jessie Buckley). Bond spends his day mooching around in an empty mansion, taking strolls around the village, and having awkward conversations with Blofeld.
Style of Bond film: If you've ever seen a Jarmusch film you'll know exactly the kind of Bond film I'm talking about here: one where nothing happens yet is compelling, and which will never be funded by any studio, but it's fun to dream about.
Bond theme song by: Tom Waits & Jessie Buckley (Jack White's already done a Bond song)
7. James Norton as 007, directed by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods, Bad Times at the El Royale)
Plot: A corrupt oil magnate's narcissistic and deadbeat son (Chris Pine) on a drug-fuelled binge hears about James Bond's (James Norton) exploits from a black market dealer and decides to put his funds to use as a 'worthy adversary' to Bond and discovers he has a penchant for villainy. Directly targeting Bond with his increasingly epic and convoluted plans, Bond has to rely on the help of an associate from his past with underworld connections (Eiza González) to combat this looming evil of unhinged madness.
Style of Bond film: Drew Goddard is great at aping very specific styles and turning them into effective films. Here he'd take the cheesy knockoff even more over the top fringe Bond films and turn them into a Bond film in itself in pure, unadulterated, style over substance madness.
Bond theme song by: Sia
6. Aidan Turner as 007, directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Widows)
Plot: A notorious Harlem kingpin (Brian Tyree Henry) looking to make enough money to escape the lifestyle with his wife, expands his business exploits to his hometown of Jamaica, only for tragedy to ensue as a result of rival gangs. Heartbroken and devastated he wages war against the rival gangs that sound expands to a global scale, requiring James Bond (Aidan Turner) who also has a tragic past involving drugs, to step in to take action. Complicating matters is a manipulative con artist/fortune teller (Alicia Vikander) who take advantage of the kingpin's grieving state as she seeks to manipulate him to gain power and riches for herself.
Style of Bond film: Dark, revisionist take on the previous adaptation of Live and Let Die (a film which I do like but is very dated). Featuring a particularly cold and calculating Bond and a cruel yet sympathetic villain, and changing up the story to one with social commentary while also having great action sequences.
Bond theme song by: Frank Ocean
5. Jack Lowden as 007, directed by Steven Knight (Hummingbird, Locke)
Plot: A retired MI6 agent suffering from PTSD runs a restaurant in Chinatown (Benedict Wong) loses his wayward son to the local Chinese gangs. When his son is killed in a shootout between the gang and MI6 agents, the grieving ex-agent decides to use his skills as a lethal gun for hire for the gang, in order to get back at the MI6. It's up to James Bond (Jack Lowden) a former friend and protégée of the ex-agent to stop things before it escalates into full on internal warfare, assisted by a disillusioned chain-smoking fellow agent 006 (Ruth Negga) who frequently dealt with the impoverished gang scenes of London while Bond was off on fun exotic exciting missions abroad.
Style of Bond film: Similar to the McQueen film but with social commentary on London specifically, another darker Bond film which deals with having to deal with a former agent spiralling out of control, and the maturity of a Bond who starts the film as a breezy cocky agent and learns a few lessons along the way.
Bond theme song by: Aimee Mann
4. Tom Hiddleston as 007, directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow)
Plot: James Bond (Tom Hiddleston) is the top ranking secret agent in the field, in his spare time living a luxurious life in his bachelor's pad with his dogs. This is all torn apart when a talkative quirky billionaire American philanthropist (Jeff Goldblum) sets him up in an embarrassing failed mission as Bond investigates his source of funds. Disgraced and embarrassed, Bond is despondent until a fellow agent masquerading as the philanthropist's assistant (Sonoya Mizuno) comes to him with evidence of his seedy dealings with nuclear weapons organisations - and away they go...
Style of Bond film: lightly, breezily quirky and comedic and pulsating with such energy even through the action sequences. The Night Manager showed that Hiddleston could definitely handle a darker shade of Bond if required but I do still think he's best suited for a cheekier approach.
Bond theme song by: Lindsey Buckingham
3. Nicholas Hoult as 007, directed by Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin, You Were Never Really Here)
Plot: Two MI6 collaborators masquerading as a pair of erudite art collectors in Vienna (Diane Kruger and Richard Ayoade) are suspected of being collaborators with the enemy after a mission gone wrong with agents who had sought their help in a defection mission. James Bond (Nicholas Hoult) is assigned as a trap to determine their guilt or not, working his way through a fake cover story about a fake mission which requires their 'help' while trying to turn the pair against one another, although complications soon ensue when a very real government conspiracy begins to involve which may or may not involve the pair...
Style of Bond film: slow-burning mystery of sorts with no one trusting anyone, mostly a very 'thinking man's' Bond flick with double-entendres, probing questions, and clues dotted around the place. Fittingly for Ramsay, all about creating an unnerving atmosphere with well-earned outbursts of violence.
Bond theme song by: Thom Yorke
2. Chiwetel Ejiofor as 007, directed by Nicolas Widing Refn (Bronson, Drive)
Plot: at an annual function celebrating the achievements of agents and staff across intelligence services worldwide at the Royal Albert Hall, the newly appointed M (Steve Coogan) reveals himself to be a covert terrorist who's planted moles across all intelligence services. Massacring almost all the top agents and holding the rest of the staff and agents hostage, only James Bond (Chiwetel Ejiofor) evades it a la John McClane style. It's up to Bond and a neurotic but surprisingly resourceful PR manager (Aisling Bea) to rescue everyone from a ticking bomb underneath that will wipe out all intelligence services.
Style of Bond film: Refn does have a cheeky side to him I don't think has been explored in his films post-Bronson, and I feel a Bond film could give him the chance to let loose in this regard. In a part-serious, part-satirical take on Bond, with Bond taking down rogue agents left and right with a mixture of witty dark comedy and brutal violence. And with Coogan and Bea being hilarious but also quietly menacing, and with believable dramatic weight, respectively.
Bond theme song by: Alex Turner
1. Richard Madden as 007, directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, The Hurt Locker)
Plot: brilliant but overconfident James Bond (Richard Madden) has his confidence and faith in his abilities shaken after a seemingly simple routine assignment to protect a government official results in tragedy from an assassin who also takes out his fellow agents, but for some reason leaves him alive to wallow in his pain. A year passes and the government official's daughter (Elizabeth Debicki) approaches Bond to propose a collaboration to take out the assassin who killed her father - soon revealed to be an intelligent, cunning agent with no clear motives (Lee Byung-hun) who through conversations between the two is revealed to be not so different to Bond himself. A tense, high-octane cat-and-mouse chase between the trio ensues...
Style of Bond film: A merging of both Bigelow's sensibilities as a fantastic director of dramatic, serious matter and her take on the campy pulpy brilliance of stuff like Point Break. Delivering in the action stakes, as well as the quiet scenes of conversation between agent to agent as Bond tries to decipher the enigmatic past of the man he is pursuing, while also delivering an arc for late government official's daughter who also gets in on the action fun while revealing more about her own backstory.
Bond theme song by: Alexandra Burke
