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Arriving this weekend is 007 Day, for those who didn't know – 5 October is recognized as a worldwide festivity honoring the world of 007, thanks to it marking the day of the world premiere of the first Bond film, with Sean Connery, back in 1962. Consider it comparable to the Star Wars celebration, but with less furry aliens and much more sophisticated style.

A Subdued Observance This Year

This year however, the arrival of JBD is a bit anticlimactic. It hasn't been since the acclaimed director was announced to helm the next Bond film earlier this year, and even less time since writer Steven Knight was enlisted to pen the screenplay. Yet there has been little to no sign afterwards regarding the next Bond getting unveiled, and very little idea about the direction this iconic film series is headed. All we have are unconfirmed reports through film industry sources implying that the creative team will be looking for a fairly young UK performer, who could be from a diverse background although not female, an established star, or anyone remotely familiar.

Disappointment for Bookmakers

Undoubtedly, this represents a setback for the hordes gambling platforms which have making a pretty penny for some time out of trying to convince bettors that the competition is among a shortlist of actors along with the attractive actor featured in Saltburn who’s secretly Australian.

Revisiting Unfamiliar Faces

Notably, the previous instance the film series actually went for a total unknown occurred in 1969, with George Lazenby temporarily assumed the Walther PPK. Before that, Connery himself had little recognition: he performed several supporting roles and done a bit of acting and modeling gigs while also employed in physique competitions and dairy delivery in Edinburgh before taking the lead role in the debut movie. The film's producers deliberately avoided a well-known actor; they wanted someone fresh whom audiences would accept as the real 007, as opposed to an actor playing Bond.

Trying this approach once more could turn out to be a clever decision, exactly as it was in the early 1960s.

The Villeneuve Factor

Yet hiring Villeneuve on board indicates that there is no get-out clause at all in case the future agent ends up as wooden. Dialling up the ridiculous devices and innuendo is off the table under the guidance of is an artistic director of genre film-making renowned for ponderous sci-fi epics where the loudest sound is the audience’s own existential dread.

A tough guy in formalwear … Daniel Craig in 2006’s Casino Royale.

A New Direction for James Bond

And yet, to a large extent, hiring Villeneuve provides clear signals we should understand regarding the upcoming era after Daniel Craig. It's unlikely there will be stealth automobiles or suggestive jokes, and it's doubtful we'll see the comic sheriff back any time soon. These changes are, naturally, perfectly acceptable for those who prefer your 007 with a modern twist. However, it leaves unclear how Villeneuve’s take on Britain’s suavest state-sponsored assassin will distinguish itself against earlier agents that came before him particularly should the new era opts not to place the plot in the initial decades.

Reinventing Every Period

Craig was instantly distinctive as a new kind of elegant secret agent as he appeared in the franchise in Casino Royale from 2006, an aggressive figure in black tie who would avoid at all costs with ridiculous gadgets, or using sexual wordplay with Denise Richards while handling explosives. He made Brosnan's tech-dependent charmer who only a few years previously was viewed by many the finest agent since the original, appear as an imitation Connery overheated and ruined. Not that this is anything new. Lazenby (briefly) followed Connery, Then Brosnan took over from the overlooked Dalton, and the campy later Moore followed brilliantly dead-eyed and callous early Roger Moore. Every era of 007 alters the prior, yet they are all in their own way the famous agent, deserving of a toast. It feels odd, while we mark this year’s Bond Day, that we are being invited to celebrate an agent who remains unidentified.