Whilst we await the final outing for Daniel Craig’s portrayal of James Bond in the upcoming No Time to Die, fans of the British spy have begun to look to the horizon and wonder who will be next to take up the mantle of 007. One such fan is Outlander star Sam Heughan, who believes that it is time to take the character back to his Scottish roots and consider casting somebody Scottish, like him for instance.
“Obviously it’s a dream for every actor…I auditioned for it back when they were doing Bond 21 – when Daniel Craig was cast in Casino Royale and I think a lot of actors were seen in the U.K. Of course, it would be a dream role. And a Scottish Bond, who doesn’t want to see another Scottish Bond?!”
It is worth noting that technically Bond is Scottish. The character is not given much of a background until later into Ian Fleming’s series of novels, and in fact, Sean Connery had already played the character in 1962’s Dr. No, James Bond is described in one book as being half-Scottish and half-Swiss.
With Sam Heughan clearly not bothering to play coy regarding his desire for the role (he admits here that he auditioned for Casino Royale after all) it sounds like he is hoping that his Scottish heritage will benefit him once the recasting process begins following Craig’s departure after No Time to Die. Alongside the fantasy drama series Outlander, Heughan recently appeared in the explosive flick Bloodshot alongside Vin Diesel, so he has both the looks and the affinity for action that the role of Bond requires. However, there are no doubt many who would consider him to be too obvious a choice, particularly when there has been a vocal call for a change in the depiction of the character in recent years.
Indeed, there has been much debate as to the direction that the franchise should take, with many suggesting that a person of color or a woman should be next in line to carry the famous license to kill. This has even been addressed by Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, who earlier this year stated that the MI6 operative can be “any colour”, but that nevertheless “is male”.
No Time to Die picks up five years after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with James Bond having now left active service. He is approached by Felix Leiter, his friend, and a CIA officer, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev was abducted, Bond must confront a danger the likes of which the world has never seen before. No Time to Die features Daniel Craig in his fifth and final outing as the MI6 agent James Bond. The movie is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. L&éa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous films, with Rami Malek and Lashana Lynch joining the main cast.
No Time to Die has been delayed several times due to the ongoing global circumstances, and is now scheduled for release on 12 November in the United Kingdom and on 25 November in the United States. This news comes to us courtesy of This Morning.
