Summary
- James Bond 26 should break canon to bring back Ana de Armas’ Paloma, as her character stole the show in No Time To Die.
- Paloma’s return may cause continuity issues but would be worth it, considering her unique and memorable role.
- Ana de Armas deserves to play Paloma in Bond 26 and could be a significant part of James Bond’s future.
James Bond 26 must break canon to bring back one Daniel Craig era star, and a 2024 action movie will prove why. The next installment of the James Bond franchise will be without Daniel Craig, who played Bond in five movies over a 15-year period. Daniel Craig’s James Bond death in No Time To Die confirms the actor will be stepping away from the role and allowing a new actor to take the mantle. Alongside casting a new Bond, the other classic supporting roles will likely all be recast, as has been the case over the years.
While resetting the franchise once again is the right decision, James Bond 26 should break tradition to bring back one memorable character. Recasting the likes of M, Q, and Miss Moneypenny has been common practice over the years. It gives the franchise a sense of continuity and makes each set of Bond films feel different from one actor to the other. Despite this working well for the James Bond series, there is one character worth breaking canon to bring back, and a 2024 action film will be a reminder as to why this star is needed in Bond 26.
|
James Bond Character |
Actor |
Movies |
|
M |
Bernard Lee |
Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979) |
|
Robert Lee |
Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), The Living Daylights (1987), Licence to Kill (1989) |
|
|
Judi Dench |
GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre – cameo (2015) |
|
|
Ralph Fiennes |
Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), No Time to Die (2021) |
|
|
Q |
Peter Burton |
Dr. No (1962) |
|
Desmond Llewelyn |
From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), The Living Daylights (1987), Licence to Kill (1989), GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) |
|
|
John Cleese |
The World Is Not Enough – as R (1999), Die Another Day (2002) |
|
|
Ben Wishaw |
Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), No Time to Die (2021) |
|
|
Miss Moneypenny |
Lois Maxwell |
Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), |
|
Caroline Bliss |
The Living Daylights (1987), Licence to Kill (1989) |
|
|
Samantha Bond |
GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002) |
|
|
Naomie Harris |
Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), No Time to Die (2021) |
Bond 26: Who Could Play Bond & Everything We Know
The Daniel Craig 007 era is ending with the release of No Time to Die, but what comes next? Here’s everything that’s been revealed about Bond 26.
Ballerina Will Further Show Why James Bond 26 Should Bring Back Ana De Armas’ Paloma
Ana De Armas Is The First To Get A John Wick Spinoff Feature Film
Ballerina
- Director
- Len Wiseman
- Cast
- Ana De Armas , Anjelica Huston , Gabriel Byrne , Lance Reddick , Catalina Sandino Moreno , Norman Reedus , Ian McShane , Keanu Reeves
- Writers
- Shay Hatten , Emerald Fennell
- Release Date
- June 7, 2024
Ana de Armas’ Paloma should return in James Bond 26, and 2024’s Ballerina will further show the actress’ star power. With the John Wick spinoff set to star de Armas, she will once again be playing a major action role, one that seems perfectly suited to her acting style. The John Wick franchise is full of great action sequences which de Armas can do well, but it will also give her time to develop an interesting lead character. Ana de Armas stole the show in No Time To Die, becoming an instantly recognizable character, despite her limited screen time.
With the perfect blend of action and humor, Paloma proved to be a refreshing character and highlighted that Ana de Armas’ No Time To Die performance deserves a spinoff. Paloma provided some much-needed comedy for the movie, yet she still fit the overall tone well. This means Ana de Armas’ Ballerina role will struggle to beat No Time To Die‘s Paloma. The character was a great fit for de Armas, but the John Wick universe is great at introducing new characters and giving de Armas a leading role could end up being even better than a Bond spinoff.
Casting A Female James Bond To Work Alongside Ana De Armas
If Ana de Armas’s character from No Time to Die returns, the next person to play Bond should be a woman. Here are some top contenders for the role.
Paloma’s Return Would Break 007 Canon – But Be Worth It For James Bond 26
The New Cast Would Make Paloma’s Return Difficult, But It Would Be Worth It
Although Paloma’s return would cause continuity issues for James Bond, it would still be worth breaking canon for. Having de Armas’ Palmoa return in Bond 26 would cause issues with the cast reset. Likely, most of the cast for the next installment will be recast. Ben Whishaw, who played Q, was only contracted for three movies, and Lashana Lynch, who played a new 007 named Nomi, was only contracted for one, as she explained to Entertainment Tonight: No Time To Die.
Though there has been some speculation that Lynch could take on the 007 role in future movies, that seems unlikely. If James Bond is being played by a different actor, and the rest of the cast has been reset as well, it would feel out of place to have de Armas reprise her role. However, her character is unique and isn’t a recurring ally, as No Time To Die is Paloma’s only appearance, making her return a little more viable.
Judi Dench played M in two sets of Bond stories, appearing in both Pierce Brosnan’s films and Daniel Craig’s. This was forgiven by fans as Dench was perfect for the role, and a similar exception could be made for de Armas. The franchise could have her play an alternative version of the character with the same characteristics or confirm that 007 is a code name and have Paloma meet the new Bond. Considering how good she is in the role, Ana de Armas could be a big part of James Bond’s future and deserves to play Paloma in Bond 26.
No Time to Die is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and MGM+.
No Time to Die
The famed agent James Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. However, his peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
- Release Date
- October 8, 2021
- Director
- Cary Fukunaga
- Cast
- Daniel Craig , Rami Malek , Lea Seydoux , Ralph Fiennes , Lashana Lynch , Jeffrey Wright , Billy Magnussen , Dali Benssalah , Naomie Harris , Rory Kinnear , Ben Whishaw , Ana De Armas , David Dencik
- Runtime
- 163 Minutes
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
