According to variety.com Sony are announcing who will play Bond in Casino Royale tomorrow, and it’s not Brosnan. A sixth actor will take the role.
This suggests that we’re going to be sadled with this improbable reboot of the Bond canon. When, after the excesses of the dire Die Another Day, Eon gained the rights to film Fleming’s first book (previously filmed in 1967 by idiots) they planned to get back to the roots of Bond. There’s precedent for this. The nadir of the series, Moonraker, a ridiculously silly action movie which ended up in space, was followed by the excellent spy yarn For Your Eyes Only. It’s just that this time they’re filming the book which details a formative episode in Bond’s life - it’s the first book - and they’re filming it as such.
This is fine, and not an oriiginal idea. Tarantino wanted to film it, in period, with Bond’s voiceover. However, Eon aren’t exactly planning a prequel to Dr No. It’s going to be a contemporary Bond.
Although the Bond films all essentially follow a set formula, it’s the variations that are interesting. And there are story arcs through the series.
Because this is an “offical” Bond (unlike the first Casino Royale or Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again) you’d expect it to fit into the canon.
But it seems it’s going to fit into at least two places. Which makes no sense.