Caffeinated Clint
When Ralph Fiennes was cast in James Bond venture “Skyfall”, some suggested he would be playing the role of iconic 007 villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of SPECTRE. That wasn’t to be, of course, with Fiennes soon enough revealed as Judi Dench’s replacement at the ‘M’ desk.
Don’t count Blofeld out yet though. Word from The Daily Mail is that the pussycat-stroking rogue might be in the next Bond film. Better still, he’ll be played by Christoph Waltz (rumoured last week to have been cast as the undisclosed villain of the film).
The outlet says Waltz will be officially announced in December… but the studio will want us to believe that he’s playing Franz Oberhauser, the son of ski instructor and Bond’s father figure Hans Oberhauser. They did the same thing with Fiennes and “Skyfall”, leaving audiences the surprise of finding out his character was much more important than initially believed.
Liking the idea of Waltz in the part!
The 58-year-old double Oscar-winner will join an elite band of stars who have previously played the role. Donald Pleasence starred as Bond’s nemesis in You Only Live Twice in 1967, followed by Kojak star Telly Savalas in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The smooth-voiced British actor Charles Gray took the part in Diamonds Are Forever in 1971.
Blofeld had previously featured in From Russia With Love in 1963, and in 1965’s Thunderball – but the character’s face was not shown and only his lower body was visible as he stroked his white Angora cat.
The villain made his last appearance in an ‘official’ Bond film in 1981 when he featured in For Your Eyes Only.
In a nail-biting opening scene Blofeld is hanging from an helicopter which is being piloted by Roger Moore’s James Bond.
The scene ends with Blofeld being dropped down a huge brick industrial chimney close to the River Thames in London.
Waltz’s involvement in the new film – which has the working title ‘Bond 24’ – will be confirmed at a press conference to be held in the first week of December. Eon productions, which owns the James Bond film franchise, will announce the star is playing an unknown character called Franz Oberhauser, son of the late Hans Oberhauser, a ski instructor who acted as a father figure to Bond.
But senior sources believe the casting is a double bluff worthy of 007 himself and that Waltz is actually playing Blofeld. One Hollywood source, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Christoph Waltz is playing Blofeld in the next Bond film. The tone of the 007 films has changed significantly in recent years and the producers have changed the character to fit in with the new-look 007.’
Blofeld’s return is now possible because of the settlement of a long-running legal dispute involving Eon Productions and the estate of the late Kevin McClory – a film producer and former friend of 007 author Ian Fleming – over who owns the right to the character and his evil empire SPECTRE.
Blofeld remains one of the most popular villains in cinema history and his influence is obvious in the Austin Powers films which spoof the Bond franchise
Blofeld, who was also known as No 1, quickly established himself as the archetypal Bond villain when he made his big-screen debut in From Russia With Love. His sinister one-liners and increasingly ingenious methods of dispensing of his underlings made him an instant hit.
“Bond 24” has kicked off production in Austria.
