James Bond and the 007 franchise is full of iconic villains who have terrorized the world for decades. Auric Goldfinger, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and Le Chiffre are just a few adversaries of Bond who have gone down in cinema history as some of the best to grace the silver screen. Now, Jamie Campbell Bower is throwing his hat into the ring for the next reboot of 007.
Bower is known for his work on the fourth season of Stranger Things, where he played a friendly orderly before turning into the all-powerful Vecna. However, his presence could be terrifying throughout the season, and the actor proved he could play a menacing villain with or without the makeup and prosthetics that transformed his character.
While speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Bower revealed his hopes to join the long-running franchise. Horowitz asks the actor why he hasn't appeared as an Imperial Officer for Star Wars yet, to which Bower responds he has his sights set on 007.
"But I'm gonna be honest with you Josh, I'm gunning for James Bond. Not to play Bond, but to be a villain in Bond. And I remember before Rami did the film, I was like 'I'm gonna be the first person under 30 to do it' and then Rami comes along and just like kills it and I'm like, 'Dammit, I wanted to do that.'"
Rami Malek plays Lyutsifer Safin in No Time to Die, the final Bond film from Daniel Craig. The franchise will be looking for an actor to replace the agent if they haven't started already. Once the next actor to play James Bond is announced, Jamie Campbell Bower would love to join him as the villain.
Jamie Campbell Bower Has All the Experience Needed to Be a Great Bond Villain
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Despite being 33 years old, Jamie Campbell Bower has a ton of experience in Hollywood. The actor got his start in films with Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street before appearing in three Twilight movies, starting with The Twilight Saga: New Moon in 2009. In addition, Bower appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I as a young Gellert Grindelwald and reprised his role for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018.
Following his role in Stranger Things 4, Bower proved once again he could play an eerie villain who steals every scene he's in. If the next set of 007 films arrive and the Vecna actor is up for a role as the villain to James Bond, he could end up being the perfect casting. If anything, Jamie Campbell Bower would bring something new and original to the franchise, which could be perfect for rebooting a long-running and beloved series of films.