It has been a busy time for Henry Cavill in the world of IP. He is no longer leading The Witcher after season 3, people are remembering when he was the dream pick for Twilight’s Edward Cullen, and, of course, he is returning to both Enola Holmes as Sherlock and an upcoming Man of Steel sequel. Why not throw James Bond into the mix?
Per Cinema Blend, the actor/nerd was on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, and he shared that his schedule is too full right now to add on something like the James Bond franchise—despite some rumors he has been tapped for the role. Cavill has long been a favorite to play the dashing super-spy; in fact, he further shared on the podcast that he was told the pick originally came down between him and Daniel Craig for Casino Royale. Now, however, his commitments are a bit more pressing than they were back in the early aughts. Cavill said:
“I’m quite busy now. I love those guys, Barbara [Broccoli] and Mike [G. Wilson]… Whether I’m considered for the role or not, I don’t know,” he said. “But it’d be fun to have the conversation, for sure. And if I’m not, then I just want to see what they do with it next, because I think they’re amazing.”
Cavill has been in two spy action films (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mission Impossible: Fallout), and he has the face for it. Still, when I think of Bond, he seems a bit too larger than life for what I would expect from that character. But then again, he made Sherlock Holmes work for him while looking like the best-fed boy in Victorian England. The folks behind finding a replacement for Daniel Craig as the new Bond has discussed this role being a 10-year-commitment for an actor, and very stunt-heavy in today’s landscape, so they need an actor who can keep up. Still, the search is in its early days and there is no doubt they will do a lengthy search to see who should be Bond in this modern era.
After all, this will be the first Bond without a Queen and the first opportunity to recast in 15 years. There have been many discussions about whether Bond should be a man of color, but for the first time, it is a genuine possibility. I may not feel comfortable putting any actor of color in the position to be torn apart by playing such an iconic character, but it would not only be a huge cultural jump for an actor and those behind the scenes will no doubt love banking on the discourse around the project.
Meanwhile, Cavill has enough on his plate that Bond doesn’t really seem to be an option right now. But there is always space for him to be a super hot mustached villain again. Which is the only thing that can truly make us feel better after The Witcher departure news. Just saying Henry.
(via CBR, image: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Published: Nov 4, 2022 01:30 pm