Newest Bond Girl

Cinescape is reporting that the newest Bond girl has been cast.

Sony Pictures has announced that Eva Green will play British treasury agent Vesper Lynd in CASINO ROYALE. In addition, Jeffrey Wright will play Felix Leiter.

They join a cast that already includes Daniel Craig, Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis, Caterina Murino as Solonge, Simon Abkarian as Dimitrios, Tobias Menzies as Villiers, Ivana Milicevic as Valenka, Clemens Schick as Kratt, Ludger Pistor as Mendel and Claudio Santamaria as Carlos.

Unlike the 1967 farcical version, it appears that producers are intent in this go-around with re-invigorating the franchise by following the Batman Begin route and starting at the beginning. I think Daniel Craig is ideally suited to play a less refined, more raw Bond in this respect. What's more, Casino Royale will be using the last (seriously) untapped Ian Fleming book as its template. The book is about as straightforward a spy story as you can get, with no super-villains, no world at stake, just some good old fashioned storytelling.Of course, with a 'prequel', as it were, it'll be hard to resist some personal insider and probably comedic touches for all the Bond fans. For instance, wouldn't the audience crack up if he confessed to Felix in an aside moment that he's never really had luck with the ladies? Personally, I'm titillated about the prospects for this film, the first time I've been excited about a Bond film since I was a teenager.

UPDATE: Not everyone agrees.

A group of James Bond fans have launched a Web site, www.craignotbond.com, to protest British actor Daniel Craig replacing Pierce Brosnan in the 007 film franchise, and boycott the upcoming Bond movie “Casino Royale.”

So go cry in a corner.