With the James Bond series turning 50 this year — and a host of events being planned for October 5th — the November release of the Sam Mendes-helmed “Skyfall” will mark the 23rd entry in the franchise. The latest issue of Empire has a wealth of material devoted to the new Bond film, including some new images below.
The film comes four years after 2008’s “Quantum of Solace,” a gap bested only by the gap between the 1989 Timothy Dalton-starring “Licence to Kill” and the 1995 Pierce Brosnan reboot “Goldeneye,” and matched by the period separating Brosnan’s last film and the beginning of Daniel Craig’s stint. Both the gap and the unusual and interesting choice of Mendes as the director — and solidified by the great trailer — have us looking forward to the spy film, which won't be continuing the story laid out in "Casino Royale" and 'Solace.' But it will have Javier Bardem as the villain, and that alone promises something very compelling.
"[Silva] is larger than life in one respect but full of surprises – never entirely, at any given moment, exactly what you think it is. Javier takes some risks," Mendes told the magazine. "But he's an amazing actor and I think he gives you something you may consider to have been absent from Bond movies for a long time. Silva's up there with the greats, for me, and that's why I worked very hard to persuade one of the great actors of the world to do it…"
The pics have some looks at the Bond girls Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe, and Bardem as the big bad, Silva. Check out the pictures below. "Skyfall" opens on November 9th.
