Blofeld is back!

dr. strangelove wrote:

Makeshift Python wrote:

It was confirmed during the release of SF that Craig was signed onto do two more, so Bond 25 will be his last. I don't think the two parter idea being nixed means Blofeld will appear in one film. I assume it will be much like the previous films and books that had Blofeld involved in consecutive stories.

Yeah, but Craig being done after B25 pretty much means that Waltz would be done after B25, as well. I doubt they'd keep Waltz after a new Bond is cast after Craig. It wouldn't make sense, similar to the the nonsense they pulled with Dench sticking around after DAD for no reason at all.

Is two films of Waltz Blofeld enough to due justice to the character?

Depending on how they well they handle the character, it could work for just two. After Craig leaves, they could go the plastic surgery route for Blofeld, assuming he's not offed in Bond 25.

FieldsMan wrote:

Depends on how you see FRWL, GS, but I always imagined Rosa Klebb to be the main villain. I do like the idea of Tilda Swinton playing a villain though - not Blofeld, but a villain.

I think the main villain was Klebb, along with Grant and Kronsteen. That's how the first couple of films operated and it worked great.

SKYFALL brought some of that back, as Bond worked closely with his allies, somewhat like he did in DN and FRWL.

FieldsMan wrote:

Depends on how you see FRWL, GS, but I always imagined Rosa Klebb to be the main villain. I do like the idea of Tilda Swinton playing a villain though - not Blofeld, but a villain.

I'd really like to see Tilda playing a role that was originally written as a man. All of the attributes of a male villain, but embodied by a woman. You could say that we had that with Elecktra, but because Marceau was hot and a woman she automatically had to be a romantic interest for Bond, and it was also to help fool the audience into believing that Robert Carlyle was the lead villain.

Maud Adams did a very good job of portraying a tough minded business woman who makes hard decisions and doesn't apologize for what she does, but.............she ends up sleeping with Bond.

I've always looked at FRWL as lacking a central villain, but I guess Klebb could fit the bill.The film is also 51 years old, so perhaps that kind of character is overdue for a return to the screen.

We've had great female hench women in the past i.e. Bambi, Thumper, May Day, Xenia...but never really as the lead villain. You could probably easily imagine Swinton in the role of Elliot Carver (minus the marriage to Teri Hatcher). Jeez...just imagine if Gustav Graves had been Gisselle Graves (and Moon had not only transformed from an Oriental to a Caucasian, but from a man to a woman! LOL!) Dominic Green could have been Dominique Green.

So, the potential is there.

As for Blofeld, you can easily imagine him in his gray tunic working with the North Koreans...or Iranians...should be easy to update the character without devolving into lampoonery.

CJB wrote:

They better bring back the pussy. I don't want a Blofeld so deep-gritty-21st-century that they leave out the pussy.

Yeah I'm hoping for that too. But Austin Powers still lurking will probably deter them. Hopefully not.

Xenia93 wrote:

CJB wrote:

They better bring back the pussy. I don't want a Blofeld so deep-gritty-21st-century that they leave out the pussy.

Yeah I'm hoping for that too. But Austin Powers still lurking will probably deter them. Hopefully not.

I accept that the Mao suit is a write-off, but omitting the white Persian is sacrilege.

I personally don't mind, but does anyone else think this thread should maybe be marked as a potential spoiler?

Makeshift Python wrote:

bitchcraft wrote:

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

bitchcraft wrote:

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

If this is true, then I hope they don't just shout out "HE'S BLOFELD!" five minutes after he is introduced. I hope they will instead have him as a secondary character, with Franz Oberhauser being some kind of informant so that they can play up Blofeld's backstory of playing both the Allies and the Axis off one another. Save the reveal for the final scene, like the epilogue of CR, with some kind of loose plot thread being explained as Blofeld's doing.

Dude, stop speculating and start stroking your white Angora cat.

Is it really so bad that I want them to introduce the character properly?

I'm thinking if everyone knows he's going to be Blofeld...it becomes an anticlimax of sorts.

Especially if subtle hints are given along the way.

That and I think it would be best to avoid the blunder that STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS made with the filmmakers trying to insist that Cumberbatch wasn't Khan, only he was, as everyone suspected the moment he was cast.

EON should let the cat out of the bag. His presence revealed from the get go will at least build hype. All they'd have to do is just not muck it up.

That's a fair point - STID really made a mess there. But rather than having Blofeld as the primary villain, I'd rather see his "Franz Oberhauser" alias as a secondary character and then the revelation that he is Blofeld come in the final scene. Okay, we would still know that he is Blofeld, but I think he should exist at the periphery before being revealed as the primary villain for BOND 25.

Jack Wade wrote:

I personally don't mind, but does anyone else think this thread should maybe be marked as a potential spoiler?

I thought of that too, but the Blofeld rumor has blown up in such a big way over the net that I don't think it would make a difference. If the Daily Mail is right on this, then apparently Waltz as Blofeld will be confirmed at the press conference.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

Makeshift Python wrote:

bitchcraft wrote:

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

bitchcraft wrote:

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

If this is true, then I hope they don't just shout out "HE'S BLOFELD!" five minutes after he is introduced. I hope they will instead have him as a secondary character, with Franz Oberhauser being some kind of informant so that they can play up Blofeld's backstory of playing both the Allies and the Axis off one another. Save the reveal for the final scene, like the epilogue of CR, with some kind of loose plot thread being explained as Blofeld's doing.

Dude, stop speculating and start stroking your white Angora cat.

Is it really so bad that I want them to introduce the character properly?

I'm thinking if everyone knows he's going to be Blofeld...it becomes an anticlimax of sorts.

Especially if subtle hints are given along the way.

That and I think it would be best to avoid the blunder that STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS made with the filmmakers trying to insist that Cumberbatch wasn't Khan, only he was, as everyone suspected the moment he was cast.

EON should let the cat out of the bag. His presence revealed from the get go will at least build hype. All they'd have to do is just not muck it up.

That's a fair point - STID really made a mess there. But rather than having Blofeld as the primary villain, I'd rather see his "Franz Oberhauser" alias as a secondary character and then the revelation that he is Blofeld come in the final scene. Okay, we would still know that he is Blofeld, but I think he should exist at the periphery before being revealed as the primary villain for BOND 25.

Eh, no. If EON wants to do a "surprise" at the end, I'd prefer that Waltz would stick as a different character throughout the film, and then near the ending we get a surprise appearance of a well known actor revealed as Blofeld. Kind of like Samuel L. Jackson appearing as Nick Fury, only without having to wait for the credits to end (leave that for "James Bond Will Return").

After everyone knew Eve would be Moneypenny, and after everyone knew "Harrison" would be Khan, I'd rather not have EON or any other film try pulling that off again. I think it would be interesting to have Blofeld out in the open, but the characters have no clue what kind of a man he really is at first. That does get into the "waiting for the characters to catch up with audiences" territory, but I think it could be done right if they make it suspenseful enough.

I just think Blofeld is significant enough that he should have some presence in the series before he becomes the focus. Especially if he sticks around for more than one film.

Well there is hope for that PM because the film hasn't been released yet, and no one knows outside the cast and crew!

That said, there is still a chance that Blofeld could be a side villain, before becoming the focal villain in Bond 25.

Also, has there been any other confirmation other than one news article stating that Blofeld is returning? Could it still be just a rumour?

They could do it retroactively. It would be a cheap way of doing it, but it would be possible - have Q go through data from Silva's island base and find Blofeld was a client of his. And I still reckon the best way to introduce him would be with an aggressive take-over of the remnants of Quantum.

But for now, it's still just a rumour.

I don't want them to do Blofeld again, time to forge new ground, So I sincerely hope this doesn't turn out to be the case regardless of how good an actor they draft in.

In the same way as Khan for STID the fact it was Khan added nothing to the experience (it was in every important sense a completely different character) and just ended up a sticky mess for neuvo-fanbois rubbing themselves into a frenzy.....by all means lets have some memorable villains (Silva was a step in the right direction though by no means the full deal imo) but there is nothing that using the names Blofeld or SPECTRE adds that cannot be earned through decent writing.

lachesis wrote:

I don't want them to do Blofeld again, time to forge new ground

Wasn't Mr. White new ground? Where did that bastard go?

Yeah I really wanted to see more Mr White, but Jesper Christensen hates Craig's Bond, so probably won't see him again!

Mr White was about as interesting as a fish getting a colonoscopy. His very name perfectly encapsulates the series' mercifully temporary fear of larger-than-life villains.

CJB wrote:

Mr White was about as interesting as a fish getting a colonoscopy. His very name perfectly encapsulates the series' mercifully temporary fear of larger-than-life villains.

Indeed he was anything but new ground.....however there was nothing wrong with Christensen's performance, like Almaric, mikkelsen et al it was solely the result of the writing and a total lack of imagination, something that could just as easily be seen in a new more grounded' Blofeld. My belief is simply that there is nothing to be gained by calling a new bad guy Blofeld (over any other creatively written villain) but plenty that can be lost both in terms of preconceived notions and/or overly self aware self important lazy ass writing.

But it's not confirmed as yet that Waltz is to be Blofeld. I'm skeptic, don't see that happen for now. I think they will want to keep Blofeld as their ace in the hole in case they need another reboot with lots of hype.

Campbell4 wrote:

But it's not confirmed as yet that Waltz is to be Blofeld. I'm skeptic, don't see that happen for now. I think they will want to keep Blofeld as their ace in the hole in case they need another reboot with lots of hype.

I don't think another reboot would be in the cards so soon. 4 Bonds followed Connery without reinventing anything.

That's true, but then the game was different. The old guard wanted to establish a series quickly and keep it running. Now Bond needs no establishing any more. Not even longer gaps can keep him from coming back. There are few things that remain so sure as Bond will return. Now Babs and Michael are already settled down, I think they could easily go 5 years without a Bond film. Most franchises take three years now, I don't see that the Bond people feel a need to hurry. That's not to say there will be a reboot soon, just that they could sit back and let things settle whenever they want. Could be the next Bond is already waiting, but it could just as well be they wIt for the next Bond.