Penelope Cruz: Will she star in the next James Bond film?

Will Penelope Cruz star in the next James Bond film? Penelope Cruz starred in the recent film 'The Counselor.'

Skyfall managed to do more than commemorate the James Bond franchise’s 50th anniversary in $TYLE, between it grossing $1 billion worldwide and securing two Oscars for its efforts. The film also introduced the 21st century versions of 007′s famous helping hands – MI6 head secretary Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and techno-invention wizard ‘Q’ (Ben Whishaw) – in addition to (SPOILER?) introducing Ralph Fiennes as the new ‘M’, who will serve as the boss for Daniel Craig’s Bond on future missions.

Craig will be returning to star in the upcoming 24th James Bond movie installment (his Skyfall costars are expected to join him), as will Skyfall director Sam Mendes – who, after much deliberation while he took a break from moviemaking to work in the world of theater stage production, decided to accept the Bond series producers’ offers for him to call the shots on the 24th Bond flick.

It’s a bit early to to expect any concrete details on the story and new characters that will be featured in Bond 24, as Skyfall co-screenwriter John Logan is still plugging away at the film’s script right now. However, Craig did offer the following tease to Vulture, with regard to what he’s planning (or, rather, hoping) for in the movie, tone-wise:

“Hopefully we’ll reclaim some of the old irony, and make sure it doesn’t become pastiche. I can’t do shtick, I’m not very good at it. Unless it kind of suddenly makes sense. Does that make sense? I sometimes wish I hammed it up more, but I just can’t do it very well, so I don’t do it.”

Filming on Bond 24 will be underway by the beginning of next year, after Craig and his significant other – Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz – finish a fourteen-week run of performing in a fresh Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s play Betrayal (with Mike Nichols directing). At that point, we’ll know for certain whether or not there’s any truth to those rumors about Penelope Cruz portraying 007′s latest female partner in the film; not to mention, who’s playing the dastardly villain, this time around.

By the sound of it, Craig is hoping that Bond 24 strikes a tone that’s more similar to Casino Royale than his prior two outings as the Bond character. Quantum of Solace, for example, shows us a vengeful 007 seeking personal payback in a story with darker (read: post-9/11) political overtones, whereas Skyfall is more about establishing Bond’s enduring relevancy – both literally (in the context of the film’s setting) and metaphorically, as a pop cultural icon.

By comparison, Casino Royale is the sole Craig-starring Bond flick so far to have incorporated just enough of the old-school Bond playfulness (read: “irony”) without going overboard; while, at the same time, successfully updating the character for the new century (unlike the final Pierce Brosnan/007 installment, Die Another Day). Following that train of logic, Craig’s suggestion doesn’t sound like a bad idea, in part because that approach would help to give Bond 24 a more unique identity – and distinguish the movie from Mendes’ Dark Knight-inspired take on the Bond franchise with Skyfall.

Sandy Schaefer blogs at Screen Rant.