Our landscape of 2025 movies doesn’t see 007 returning any time soon, especially with James Bond 26 supposedly still being a couple of years out. I know I’m not the only person looking forward to the dawn of a new Bond, but I was pleasantly surprised to recently discover how much of a geek Superman’s David Corenswet is about the series.
That realization came from his appearance on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court in a segment that didn’t make the series proper. The 2006 launch of the Daniel Craig James Bond movies allowed Corenswet to dig deep into the weeds of the franchise commenting on Casino Royale’s memorable James Bond pre-credits sequence with a fan theory:
I can see why that snippet was cut for time but released to the public separately. It’s a pretty huge thinker centered on the opening sequence of Casino Royale, which features James Bond killing two enemies of Britain. As noted by David Corenswet, that’s the requirement for earning one’s 00-license to kill on paper.
However, the Twisters actor suggests that in James Bond’s heart and mind, the qualifying kills were truly executed when he dispatched of the opening henchman. That’s because while 007 thought he killed the man by drowning him, it's pulling the trigger that finally punches the man’s ticket – counting as a second kill.
Before we go any further, feel free to watch the scene in question for yourself. It'll be pretty important to the final leg of this discussion.
The reason I’m inclined to agree with this read on Casino Royale’s opening is because Daniel Craig’s time in the tuxedo focused on the psyche of Ian Fleming’s creation. There’s even a line later on in this soft reboot where he asks M (Dame Judi Dench) if he’s to become “half monk, half hitman.”
James Bond knew that the bean counters at MI6 needed two bodies, for strategic and quantitative reasons. But walking in to take out Dryden (Malcolm Sinclair) was nothing more than a formality in his mind, as he learned through the traitor’s dead contact that you only live twice.
If it weren’t for Amazon’s supposed 007 Wishlist upholding the tradition of keeping 007 British, and if more Superman excitement wasn’t an obvious concern, I’d seriously entertain Corenswet’s potential casting as the next James Bond. Seeing as James Brolin was almost an American James Bond, and we’ve had English actors like Henry Cavill and Christian Bale play DC superheroes, I’d actually be open to that possibility.
Of course, we’re in a world where David Corenswet is Superman, and that’s pretty swell as well. Those of you who haven’t caught up with the latest big screen adventure featuring the last son of Krypton can do so in theaters, with Superman’s 3D/4DX option being so great that you should seriously consider it.
