THE NEW 007 . . . ??

Rumor has it that Daniel Craig has been cast as the new James Bond for the latest installment "Casino Royale". Personally, I think this is a good choice.
Craig was great in Elizabeth (recommended!) and Road to Perdition and I'm completely exhausted with Pierce Brosnan... and the other past Bonds these last two decades.

Ian Fleming's 1953 Casino Royale book, the first Bond novel, the spy was introduced as a more youthful, realistic and cold character than the films. Apparently they are trying to "reinvent" him, strip him down to basics: he's 28 (er, Craig is 37) and there is no Q yet - no gadgets. The book was also one of the most violent in the series, with Bond taking a harsh beating as well as taking some pleasure in inflicting pain on others. It would be nice to bring back the original, more sadistic, "thank God he's on OUR side" Bond.

My only worries are the Bond Franchise is closely held tight by the Fleming Family and they never want to change anything... just keep milking the cash cow into the ground. Casino Royale is also going to be directed by Martin Campbell, who was in charge of GoldenEye... which had its moments I suppose(?)... he also directed the latest Zorro flick. *sigh*

However, its also being written by Paul Haggis, who wrote Crash and Million Dollar Baby.

Atleast they aren't giving us more craptastic Pierce Brosnan era Bond.
Fingers crossed.