As reported earlier today, the 24th James Bond film is titled Spectre. A lot of new cast members have been introduced, as well as their character’s names. Notable absentee in that list: Spectre’s Number One, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
The film’s director, Sam Mendes, already told the public that “Those of you who have some knowledge of the Bond franchise, will probably have some idea to what that [the film’s title] refers to.” Indeed, the name Spectre is a well-known name for fans since the first film in the franchise.
Spectre, an anagram of Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, is a criminal organisation faced by Bond quite a few times. Although not completely seen before You Only Live Twice, the head of this organisation has always been Ernst Stavro Blofeld, a character who has been played by several actors though the years.
With the title of the film in mind, it is strange that none of the new actors has been named as Blofeld, but understandably, they don’t want to ruin the surprise.
Nonetheless, it is safe to say that Blofeld makes an appearance, and here are three options:
1. Christoph Waltz will play Blofeld
This is the safest bet, as Waltz will play an antagonist. His character’s name has been given as Oberhauser, but that could easily be a fake name. After all, Blofeld has already done that in Diamonds Are Forever. And seeing as Waltz is Austrian, this suits the character wonderfully. He has been portrayed with such an accent in multiple films.
2. Andrew Scott will play Blofeld
Scott will be playing an MI6 staff member named Denbigh. However, he could secretly be a mole, and be working for the bad guys, or even be their Number One all along. This would not only make for some good drama, but it has also happened before, in Goldeneye, where Alec Trevelyan (or 006) turned on Bond.
3. Someone that we don’t know (yet) is Blofeld
It would be the ultimate kicker, the whole film we’ve been concentrating on a menacing villain played by Christoph Waltz. Then, suddenly, we see a white cat on someone’s lap. The camera pans upwards, and we see a well-known, unexpected actor as Blofeld. This could easily continue into the next film, with even a bigger cliffhanger, not showing the actors’ face at all. It has been utilized in previous films with great effect.
We will see the answer when the film comes out, October 23, 2015 in the U.K., and Nov. 6 in the U.S.