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Arriving this weekend is 007 Day, for those who didn't know – 5 October now stands as a global festivity focused on the world of 007, due to the fact it commemorates the anniversary of the global debut of the inaugural 007 movie, with Sean Connery, in the year 1962. Consider it similar to May the 4th, minus the furry aliens and a whole lot more elegant confidence.

A Muted Observance This Year

This year however, the coming of James Bond Day feels rather like a damp squib. Not long has passed after the filmmaker was confirmed to direct the next Bond film back in June, and shortly after when the screenwriter Steven Knight was enlisted to write the script. However, we've seen scant evidence afterwards about the future agent getting unveiled, and very little idea of where this iconic film series is headed. All we have are whisperings on the wind via the Hollywood trades suggesting that the producers intend to cast a comparatively fresh-faced Brit, possibly non-white but is not going to be a woman, an established star, or somebody we’ve vaguely heard of.

Disappointment for Bookmakers

Naturally, this is unwelcome developments for the hordes internet betting sites who have been making a pretty penny for some time by attempting to persuade punters that the competition is between a shortlist of actors and that hunky guy featured in Saltburn who is actually Australian.

Going Back to Newcomers

Notably, the last time the movie franchise actually went for a complete unknown was in 1969, with George Lazenby temporarily assumed the Walther PPK. Earlier, the original Bond certainly wasn’t a star: he performed some small movie parts and done a bit of acting and modeling gigs as well as working as a bodybuilder and milkman in his hometown before taking the lead role in the debut movie. The creative heads intentionally rejected a household name; they sought an unfamiliar performer whom audiences would see as Bond himself, instead of a performer portraying Bond.

Trying this approach once more might prove to be a brilliant tactic, exactly as it was during the franchise's infancy.

The Villeneuve Factor

Yet hiring Villeneuve on board indicates that there's no room for error in any way if this new Bond proves to be wooden. Increasing the exploding pens and double entendres is not feasible with a director like is an artistic director known for genre films renowned for dense futuristic stories where the loudest sound is profound unease.

A bruiser in a dinner jacket … Daniel Craig in 2006’s Casino Royale.

Fresh Approach for James Bond

However, in numerous aspects, selecting this director provides clear signals that are essential concerning the fresh post-Daniel Craig direction. It's unlikely there will be any invisible cars or suggestive jokes, and the return of the southern lawman in the near future. All of this is, of course, absolutely fine if you like your James Bond updated for today. Yet it fails to indicate how Villeneuve’s take of the elegant government hitman will distinguish itself from the 007s that came before him particularly should the upcoming phase opts not to take the whole story in the original time period.

Transforming Each Era

Craig was immediately recognisable as a new kind of stylish operative when he arrived on the scene in the 2006 film, an aggressive figure in black tie who would never be caught dead in an invisible car, or exchanging suggestive lines alongside Denise Richards while handling explosives. He rendered the previous Bond's polished style who only a few years previously had been considered by some the top 007 after Connery, look like a copycat version overheated and ruined. This is not unprecedented. Lazenby (briefly) followed Connery, Brosnan followed the underrated Timothy Dalton, and the campy later Moore succeeded the gritty initial Moore. Every era of 007 redefines the last one, but each one is in its unique manner the iconic spy, and worth raising a glass to. It’s just a little weird, while we mark this year’s Bond Day, that we are asked to celebrate an agent that is not yet chosen.