Old Bonds die hard, Craig is back

Back in 2015, the world was a different place. Brexit was still only a spectre, Bihar’s mahagathbandhan offered a quantum of solace to many, if only to die another day. But in 2016, ISIS made it brutally evident that the world is not enough, the Panama Papers surfaced to scare the living daylights out of several people in crucial posts, and strong suspicions arose that the US election process had been trumped from Russia with love.

With Kim Jong-un proving to be a thunderball, and the new man in the White House being likened to a skyfall, it is not surprising at all that a reluctant Daniel Craig has realised that never say never again is a good adage for Commander James Bond to live (and let die) by when on Her Majesty’s secret service, and finally admitted that he will use his cinematic licence to kill again, come 2019.

The return of the blond and blue-eyed male super spy might disappoint those who were hoping for a return to a dark-haired007 — such as Tom Hardy or Henry Cavill — or even a Jemima Bond now that M and Moneypenny have also changed. Of course, Idris Elba as a “Bond of Colour” — mooted by Steven Spielberg last year — will surely remain a contender the next time. The question is, what or who will be the villain this time, as there are many real-life contenders whom Hollywood would find irresistibly inspiring.