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This Sunday is 007 Day, for those who didn't know – the fifth of October now stands as a worldwide celebration dedicated to everything about 007, due to this being the anniversary of the world premiere of Dr No, with Sean Connery, in the year 1962. Imagine it similar to Star Wars Day, but with less creature costumes and much more elegant confidence.

A Subdued Event Currently

This year however, the arrival of JBD is a bit like a damp squib. It hasn't been after Denis Villeneuve was confirmed to helm the future installment back in June, and not long afterwards that Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight was brought on board to pen the screenplay. But there’s been scant evidence from that point regarding the next Bond getting unveiled, and even less sense about the direction this iconic film series is going next. What remains is industry speculation via the Hollywood trades indicating that the producers intend to cast a relatively youthful British actor, possibly a person of colour yet will not be female, an established star, or anyone slightly known.

Bad News for Betting Agencies

This is, of course disappointing news for the hordes internet betting sites which have making a pretty penny for some time by attempting to persuade gamblers that the competition is between several speculated candidates along with the attractive actor from Saltburn who is actually Australian.

Going Back to Newcomers

Notably, the previous instance the film series actually went for a total unknown was in 1969, as George Lazenby briefly took up the Walther PPK. Before that, the original Bond certainly wasn’t a star: he had had several supporting roles and done a bit of stage and modelling work as well as working as a bodybuilder and milkman in his hometown prior to accepting the main character in the first film. The creative heads deliberately avoided an established star; they desired a new face whom audiences would accept as the actual character, as opposed to a star in the role.

Trying this approach once more could turn out to be an ingenious move, similar to how it worked in the early 1960s.

Impact of Villeneuve

However, bringing in Villeneuve involved suggests that there are no excuses whatsoever should the next 007 proves to be a stiff. Dialling up the exploding pens and double entendres is off the table with a director like is a serious filmmaker specializing in cinematic genres best known for ponderous sci-fi epics where the dominant feature is the audience’s own existential dread.

An aggressive type in black tie … Daniel Craig as Bond in Casino Royale.

A New Direction for 007

Nevertheless, to a large extent, hiring Villeneuve reveals a great deal we need to know regarding the upcoming post-Daniel Craig direction. It's unlikely there will be vehicles that disappear or sexual innuendos, and we probably won’t be getting Sheriff JW Pepper again shortly. This entire situation is, of course, absolutely fine for those who prefer your James Bond updated for today. Yet it fails to indicate the director's interpretation on Britain’s suavest state-sponsored assassin will be unique from the 007s who immediately preceded him particularly should the new era opts not to place the plot in the original time period.

Transforming Every Period

Craig was instantly distinctive as a different type of dapper super-spy as he appeared on the scene in Casino Royale from 2006, a tough character in formal attire who would never be seen in an invisible car, or trading sex puns with Denise Richards while handling explosives. He caused Pierce Brosnan’s gadget-addled smoothie that just a short time before had been considered by some as the best Bond since Connery, appear as a karaoke Connery overheated and ruined. Not that this is anything new. After Connery came Lazenby, Brosnan came after the underrated Timothy Dalton, and cheesy late-era Roger Moore succeeded the gritty initial Moore. All franchise chapters alters the prior, however, every version remains distinctively James Bond 007, and worth raising a glass to. It’s just a little weird, during this year's the current 007 Day, that we are asked to honor a character that is not yet chosen.