A Forgotten Comedy Trilogy Will Help Determine The Next James Bond

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 8 seconds ago

Right now, one of the most powerful entities in the entire world is on the hunt for James Bond. No, I’m not talking about Blofeld, Goldfinger, or any of the rest of 007’s colorful rogues’ gallery. Instead, I’m talking about Amazon, which (after shelling out a whopping billion dollars) now has full creative control over the James Bond character. They’re eager to start pumping out new movies and (in all likelihood) new TV shows, but that can’t happen until they find a new Bond actor to replace Daniel Craig.

Right now, fans are mostly speculating who will get the coveted role, and various names (including Callum Turner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and even Jacob Elordi) keep churning through the rumor mill. However, it’s arguably more interesting to speculate about what the new 007 films will actually be like. Will we be getting more movies in the ultra-serious vein of the Craig movies? The answer is almost certainly “no,” and it’s all due to the Austin Powers films, which parodied James Bond and absolutely dominated the ‘90s.

A License To Shag

I know what you’re thinking. “What in the name of a Swedish-made penis enlarger does a ‘90s film franchise have to do with modern Bond?” Back in 2012, Daniel Craig sat down for an interview with the 007 fan site MI6 in order to promote Skyfall. He began discussing why Casino Royale was such a serious movie compared to many of the earlier Bond films. Mid-interview, Craig surprisingly laid the blame for this creative decision on one man: Austin Powers star Mike Myers.

“We had to destroy the myth because Mike Myers f*cked us,” Craig said with hilarious vulgarity. While acknowledging his love for the actor, the Knives Out star reiterated how his franchise had been done dirty by the former Saturday Night Live icon. “He kind of f*cked us; made it impossible to do the gags.” In other words, the Austin Powers films did such a good job making fun of the sillier aspects of 007 that Craig’s Bond films had to throw those things out unless they wanted filmgoers to see their new star as an instant punchline.

Back To Brosnan (Sort Of)

So, the popularity of the Austin Powers films explains why Daniel Craig’s 007 movies were so serious. Why, though, do I think Mike Myers’ movies will help determine the tone of the next Bond film? Simple: it’s all about course correction. The Austin Powers movies made the Bond filmmakers feel as if they had leaned too far into the silliness of their character, so they tried to fix this by making 007 into more of a grim warrior. Now, the ultra-gritty Bond has been the norm for over two decades, so it stands to reason that the pendulum will swing the other way and we’ll get a more lighthearted 007.

Now, does that mean that the next Bond actor will be as silly as Roger Moore, whose zany antics largely inspired the Austin Powers character? Probably not. But we’ll likely get someone akin to Pierce Brosnan, who did a great job blending serious and comedic elements into his 007 movies. That would help to give the Amazon era of the franchise more mainstream appeal while distinguishing the new Bond from other, overly serious action heroes like John Reacher and John Wick.

Of course, all of this is arguably putting the cart before the horse (or should that be Aston Martin?). Before anyone at Amazon can earnestly work on the next chapter for 007, they’ll need to cast the next James Bond actor. Will it be someone the fans have been clamoring for, or will the casting choice be a complete surprise? Either way, one thing’s for sure: the internet will be arguing about the choice of actor until the heat death of the universe. Or, at the very least, until an AI (probably one made by Amazon) rises up and kills us all.