The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022
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Advertisement TV & Streaming THE producers of James Bond have been chatting about potential actors who could be the new James Bond and Idris’ Elba’s name has apparently been mentioned. No Time to Die marks Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond. Some 15 years have passed since Craig first played 007 in Casino Royale, and throughout that time debate has raged over the new James Bond — with everyone asking who should be the next James Bond? Plenty of names have come and gone in the discussion, as was the case before Craig himself was selected to succeed Pierce Brosnan in the role, and we could yet see a late contender find themselves in the right place at the right time. As we’ve seen in discussions of the official Bond theme song, it’s really difficult to please absolutely everybody, but here are some of the leading candidates to be the eighth big screen Bond. Right, so when it comes to talent, it’s hard to look past Tom Hardy. If you were casting for 100 roles which fit his age and gender profile, Hardy would be on the shortlist for 90 of them before you knew anything else about the character. The question isn’t whether he would nail it, because obviously he would, but rather whether he’d feel as though Bond is too constrictive a role for him to take on. Henry Cavill has had a few false dawns with ‘big’ roles in the past, most notably failing to turn Superman into career-defining role it might have been for others. However, this actually works in his favour from a Bond perspective: when watching Cavill as 007, the Man of Steel star won’t feel as though he’s in the wrong role quite as much. Also, and this is important, he looks great in a suit. And so to Idris Elba. It feels like Elba would have been a frontrunner had Craig bowed out before No Time to Die, but the window may have now shut for the 47-year-old. That said, after taking the last few years to work on some smaller projects (also Cats, but we don’t need to dwell on that), there’s every chance the Londoner could be coaxed into a role which he has been linked with as frequently as Wesley Sneijder has been linked with Manchester United. With Lucifer coming to an end, Tom Ellis will have a space in his diary to play James Bond. The only issue is his age — he’s 42 at the moment and, realistically, the next movie will be around 2025. We reckon he would do a great job, though, and it would be great to see another Welshman in the role, after Timothy Dalton.
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sci-fi great to stream right now
If The 100 (2014-2020) looks like your standard teen drama, prepare to have your expectations exceeded. There’s a reason this post-apocalyptic series scored seven seasons: The 100, streaming on YouTube, brings rich world-building and moral dilemmas that push the stereotypical characters into unique, compelling places. The 100 in question are a generation of juvenile detainees sent to Earth to determine whether it’s habitable post-apocalypse. 100 percent give this one a go.
Germany’s answer to Stranger Things deliberately takes its time before stepping into completely compelling and original places. A sci-fi noir, Dark (2017-2020) folds time travel, conspiracies and estranged families into a generationspanning story kicked off by a child’s disappearance. If those kinds of meticulously crafted layers are what you’re after in your storytelling, settle in. All three seasons of Dark’s meditative look at time travel and its effect on human nature are waiting to hit you at full force. On Netflix.
Ten in the line-up to play the next Bond Our own Jamie Dornan already has the sadistic nature of James Bond nailed, having played a serial killer in The Fall and Christian Grey in the 50 Shades movies. But he can also play the action part as well and he’s a fantastic actor. It would also be great to see another man from Ireland to take on the role of James Bond Next up, Richard Madden. He came to prominence thanks to his role as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones, but it was Bodyguard and Rocket Man where he truly showed off his acting chops. He’s still young, (mid 30s) and is Scottish, so will definitely be on the Broccoli’s hit list. Meanwhile, Tom Hiddleston has a strong profile outside the Bond franchise
and, with him having ‘done’ Marvel, this may be the best (or even only) opportunity to snap him up. His slate looks busy but not irrevocably so, giving him time to polish off his to-do list before moving onto a big franchise role, and he’s easy to picture as 007. He turns 40 in 2021, though, and the studio may prefer someone younger. 677 750 Out of everyone on this list, Dan Stevens has perhaps had the most varied career so far. First seen in Downton Abbey, he has since shed some pounds and starred in the fantastic Marvel show Legion, featured in a couple of great horror movies and was last seen in the Netflix Eurovision movie. He’s got the physique, charm, acting chops
and humour to be a brilliant Bond. Love it or hate it, Bridgerton has been a massive success for Netflix and certainly put Regé-Jean Page on the map as the next James Bond. He’s superb as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. At 31 he’s the perfect age to play Bond in myriad movies One of the more recent favourites, Sam Heughan wowed us all in Outlander and has the acting chops and looks to be the next James Bond. He’s Scottish so would be walking in Sean Connery sized boots. At 40, he’s a good age to be playing Bond and he’s already put on a tux for spoof The Spy Who Dumped Me - not a movie we would recommend but Heughan makes it nearly watchable
Netflix cancellations don’t get more criminal than the axing of The OA (2016-2019). This wildly unique story follows Prairie Johnson, a young blind woman who returns after being missing for years, now with the ability to see. She claims to be the “original angel” and convinces a small group of locals to listen to her impossible story, involving abductions and great escapes. The OA is the kind of grounded sci-fi that catches you and its heroes completely off guard when it introduces its fantastic concepts. Watch the first two impeccable seasons on Netflix and pray the third is picked up elsewhere.
The reboot of the 1965 series of the same name propels us forward to 2046, two years after humanity finds itself on the brink of extinction. The talented Robinson family head out with a crew to colonise a new planet. Aside from inescapable family drama, they face strange new environments and an odd alien robot that befriends young Will. Mystery, heart and a memorable villain in Parker Posey’s Dr. Smith give Lost in Space plenty of fuel to lift off (seasons 2 and 3 are markedly improved over season 1). Also on Netflix.
Yeah, Gong Yoo from Squid Game’s in this. What else do you need to know? This South Korean sci-fi mystery on Netflix follows a crew of astronauts on a mission to an abandoned research facility on the moon. Their target: a sample of an unknown substance for unclear purposes. Betrayal, government lies and personal secrets send this addictive space journey into a tailspin.
