Reddit user u/McWovin took to the r/Movies subreddit asking fans to share their picks for the next James Bond. While u/owlexe23 suggested Danny DeVito and u/MintOtter considered Dan Stevens to be the best possible choice, most fans aren't interested in asking that question. "Timothy Dalton as the villain is all I want," wrote user u/cube_mine, receiving over a thousand likes.
Timothy Dalton played the British Secret Service agent in 1987's "The Living Daylights" and 1989's "Licence to Kill." While Dalton received praise for his dark take on 007, the actor couldn't continue the role due to a complex legal battle. If fans would have their way, Dalton would return to the franchise as a villain. Why? Because of his devilishly delightful antagonistic turn in "Hot Fuzz." Several comments are filled with references to the 2007 action-comedy, which features Dalton as the nefarious Simon Skinner. Dalton is no stranger to playing bad guys, most recently appearing in Paramount+'s "1923" as a deadly foe.
Some fans think that the conversation should shift away from his "Hot Fuzz" role. "Everyone [is] talking about 'Hot Fuzz' and 'The Rocketeer,' and the dude played a James-Bond-style villain on the James-Bond-style show 'Chuck' too," wrote one fan. Another user chimed in by reminding commenters that Dalton played a villain in "Flash Gordon," before his stint as 007.
Will Dalton return to the franchise, this time as a foe meant to destroy James Bond? Only time will tell when the next iteration of 007 enters production. How can a former Bond be bad? User u/ramriot has an idea: "The plot twist could be that he was Bond & will try to turn the new Bond with his story of how King & country abandoned him."
