It was a real shame to see The Dark Tower fall apart at Universal. Fortunately, Javier Bardem, who was going to play Roland in Tower, quickly bounced back and will be playing the new James Bond villain.
Details are tight, as expected, and there was a point where a war between MGM the Broccoli family (who control the Bond rights), almost brought Bond to an end, but you just can’t keep a good secret agent down.
According to speculation on the ‘Net, Bond 23 may be called Skyfall, and what we do know for certain is Daniel Craig is making his third appearance as 007, it will be directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), and among the screenwriting team are John Logan (Rango, The Aviator) and Neal Purvis, who along with Robert Wade has been writing Bond films since The World Is Not Enough.
Playing a Bond villain, as well as playing a Bond girl, is a long tradition that I’m sure Bardem will be happy to be a part of, and he told Nightline that he is indeed “very” excited.
“My parents took me to watch the movies and I saw all of them. So to play that is going to be fun. They chose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details.”
According to the site Bond23, currently rumored to play Bond girls are Harry Potter actress Helen McCrory, French actress Berenice Marlohe, who may play Bond’s love interest, and model Brianna Meighan, who may play Bardem’s girlfriend.
In other casting news, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is gaining a lot of casting steam, with Kurt Russell replacing Kevin Costner, and the latest actor Tarantino’s cast is Don Johnson, who will reportedly play a plantation owner. According to Variety, it took time to convince Johnson to do the role, which he didn’t think he was right for, but after a few months Johnson finally agreed.
As we previously reported about the Jackie Brown Blu-Ray, being in a Tarantino film is no guarantee of a comeback, although a lot of people recognize Pam Grier from Brown, so whether it will do wonders for Johnson’s career, or just be another notch on the gun remains to be seen.
