During a recent interview in a podcast episode Happy Sad Confused by Josh Horowitz , Ralph Fiennes has unveiled a detail of the processing of Specter .
The fourth Bond of Daniel Craig and the second directed by Sam Mendes , which so far had not emerged: M risked be a villain.
The character of M is one of the cornerstones of the Bondian saga. Prior to Fiennes, the role was Judi Dench , who had played him by GoldenEye on Skyfall . Fiennes inherited it at the end of the latter, and in Skyfall his was a decidedly positive character. Yet Sam Mendes would have liked to turn him into a villain in the next film, perhaps to exploit the prospect of a nice twist. But Fiennes opposed and won it:
I think I can say now that I had to resist Sam’s attempt to make M [a villain] in Specter . I told him, “You can’t make me play M and then turn the omelette and turn me into a villain. M is never the bad guy “. So I was forced to have some pretty intense discussions with Sam, in which I said, “This is not good for me at all.”
Fiennes was probably right to fight against this idea, considering that the gimmick would have completely betrayed the character he played in Skyfall . However, this revelation is a surprise: Mendes had painstakingly made sure to finish Skyfall with all the elements of the classic 007 in place: M in his office, Moneypenny at his desk… Strange that he intended to mess up this picture in the next film.
The next M?
The Bondian tradition allows that, even if the protagonist changes, the side dishes remain the same. For this Judi Dench remained in the role of M throughout the Pierce Brosnan “management” and continued with Craig. But today, in the era of constant reboots, it is possible that this rule is betrayed. We will see, therefore, if Ralph Fiennes will remain in his office also in Bond 26 or if he will be replaced.