A writer of the James Bond novels has predicted a major fan backlash when the casting for the next 007 is formally announced.
Charlie Higson, the author behind the new James Bond book King Zero, said in an interview with The Times that he found current frontrunner, Scottish actor and Slow Horses star Jack Lowden, an unconvincing choice for the British hero.
“I’m not sure. I like him, but it’s like when Tom Hiddleston was in the running — not a convincing hand-to-hand fighter,” Higson said of Lowden, comparing him negatively to the most recent Bond actor, Daniel Craig.
“With Daniel Craig you can believe him kicking the s**t out of someone,” the author continued. “And you’ve got to believe that with Bond.”
When discussing fellow fan favorites, Higson called Jacob Elordi (who stands at 6 feet, 5 inches) “too tall”, and said of Callum Turner, “He has unconventional looks, no bad thing.”
“Bond could be Black, that wouldn’t be a problem,” he added. “But there’d be no point making Bond a woman, because the character’s about what it means to be a man. It’s a representation of manhood and manliness.”
In the interview, the writer confirmed he had no insider knowledge of the casting process, speculating: “Are they gonna go for a much younger Bond? “Are they gonna go for an established name, something we’ve not heard of? It’ll be interesting. It’s quite exciting.”
All in all, Higson said that no matter the choice that the studio heads at Amazon MGM decide on, there will be some level of backlash from movie fans. “Whatever the answer, everyone will be very angry when they find out,” he said (via The Independent).
Higson is the eighth author to take over writing the James Bond novels after the original author, Ian Fleming, died in 1964, writing under Ian Fleming Productions. The current writer, who is also an actor and comedian, wrote the first five Young Bond novels, as well as two adult Bond novels: On His Majesty’s Secret Service, first published in 2023, and his latest novel, King Zero, which arrives this month.
