The character of M is one who’s been around as long as the James Bond movies have been. Dame Judy Dench was playing the part of M when Daniel Craig took over as Agent 007, but she was killed off in Skyfall. Fiennes entered the franchise as Gareth Mallory in Skyfall and was elevated to M in Spectre and No Time To Die. The actor has gone on record as saying he wants to keep 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 the Happy Sad Confused podcast, 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 of Skyfall and making M a Bond villain. The Harry Potter alum said 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 Mallory the next Bond villain and 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 in No 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 with the 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 Bond can be seen in No Time to Die, now available on digital platforms.
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Source: Happy Sad Confused Podcast
