Ralph Fiennes is relatively new to theJames Bondfranchise, but that doesn’t mean his voice hasn’t carried some weight. In fact, the actor claims that when he came on board for the second to last Daniel Craig James Bond film, he had to fight hard against the producers making his character a villain.
The character of M is one who’s been around as long as theJames Bondmovies have been. Dame Judy Dench was playing the part of M when Daniel Craig took over as Agent 007, but she was killed off inSkyfall. Fiennes entered the franchise as Gareth Mallory inSkyfalland was elevated to M inSpectreandNo Time To Die. The actor has gone on record as saying he wants tokeep playing M in the James Bond universe, though he also wants to make sure the character stays a good guy.
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Speaking about the role to theHappy Sad Confusedpodcast, Fiennes explained there was a time when the character was going to take a heck of a heel turn. The actor said he had some rather energetic conversations with producer Sam Mendes about the direction ofSkyfalland making M a Bond villain.TheHarry Potteralumsaid that he had to tell Mendes that he didn’t want to come on board the franchise and take on such an iconic character only to have them turn evil. “M is never the bad guy,” Fiennes claimed he told the producer. He added that he made it clear that sort of change to the character wasn’t going to “fly” with him.
It appears from the actor’s comments that Mendes was quite interested in making Garreth Mallorythe next Bond villainand had to be talked out of it over time. Instead, the man who was eventually known as M turned into a character that wasn’t originally trusted all that much but eventually become a strong ally to Craig’s Bond. Of course, the character made some questionable decisions inNo Time to Die, but his actions were done with the best of intentions and he remained a loyal hero.
Now that Craig has eventually finished his run as Agent 007, most think all of the characters will be recast for the next film. However, that hasn’t been set in stone. Fiennes has made it clear he wants to work withthe next James Bond. The question is who exactly will be the next person to take over that role, and will it be James Bond or will it be a woman this time around?
James Bondcan be seen inNo Time to Die, now available on digital platforms.
