A few more tidbits about Spectre, Sam Mendes’ follow-up to his Bond film Skyfall, have appeared. But they are not about James Bond (Daniel Craig, in his fourth appearance); rather, his ladies. In a USA Today feature, new details are given about the women of the film, and their characters' personalities. One thing that unites them all: they will not be the campy caricatures of the past, but strong and challenging. Check out the new pictures and character details below:
The first new "Bond Girl" is Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol), a doctor and daughter of an assassin. She meets Bond when he drops into her Austrian clinic (hey, the man gets around, it’s bound to catch up with him). Though the two butt heads at first, they “need each other to resolve their problems.”
Bond also has a “romantic entanglement” with Monica Bellucci’s Lucia Sciarra (another change is that not every love interest is a naif). The widow of a Mafioso, Sciarra has information Bond needs, but also finds that she can trust him to save her from the same fate as her murdered husband. (Bellucci also had a great quote: “I take so much time to do things in life. I had my first child at 40 and my second child at 45 and now I’m a James Bond girl at 50.”)
The film will also feature the reappearance of Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), who will have a bigger and “more action-packed” role this year. Having grown up since Skyfall (where she almost killed Bond by accidentally shooting him), she and the superspy have a new, well, bond between them, and a new trust.
The final Spectre Bond lady will be Stephanie Sigman (Miss Bala) as the mysterious Estrella, and that’s about all we know. Sigman has been sworn to secrecy about everything relating to her character so, clearly she’s going to be important in some way.
But, it seems like all of these women will be playing key roles in what is so typically a wholly masculine franchise. Bellucci had the final word on this “new” Bond, saying:
He’s a James Bond who’s looking inside himself. He’s a James Bond who kills but is looking for death. It’s a struggle and because of that he becomes darker but at he same time more mysterious and even sexier.
The film opens November 6th, and also stars Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, and David Bautista. You can check out the latest TV spot here, and be sure to keep an eye on Collider tomorrow for the next full trailer.
Here’s the official synopsis for Spectre:
In SPECTRE, a cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE. Sam Mendes returns to direct SPECTRE, with Daniel Craig reprising his role as 007 for the fourth time. SPECTRE is produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, from a script by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade.
