While we still have to wait and see for ourselves just exactly how Patrick Gibson does as James Bond in IO Interactive’s upcoming origin game 007 First Light, one person already believes he is good enough to take the lead on the franchise’s next live-action movie.
In fact, in the words of fellow actor Lennie James, who plays Bond’s mentor John Greenway in First Light, “the people in control would be mad” not to consider Gibson for the part of Bond in the next live-action film. Those ‘people’ would be some Amazon hot shots, with the company currently in control of the James Bond franchise after paying $20m for the honour last year (I am sure they think it was worth every Moneypenny…).
007 First Light’s official Rules of Spycraft trailer. Watch on YouTube
“[Gibson’s] fantastic in our version of Bond, and I genuinely think he should be a candidate for the main role that they’re trying to find someone for,” James told Radio Times Gaming at last week’s BAFTA Games Awards (thanks, GamesRadar). “I’m sure he’s under consideration.”
As well as Bond in 007 First Light, Gibson’s other credits include a young Dexter Morgan in Dexter: Original Sin. Speaking with Eurogamer last year, First Light’s cinematic and narrative director Martin Emborg said the Irish actor brings an important “energy” to his performance. “A lot of the time the cinematic artists will start with a long lens shot, and he’s always moving. He’s so dynamic. He has this impatience to him,” Emborg explained. “He’s not someone who can sit in a chair and be extremely calm. Which is great, because that’s a key part of his personality.”
As for James (as in Lennie, not Bond), he has also starred in the likes of The Walking Dead and Line of Duty, as well as taking on the role of Destiny’s Lord Shaxx. Other 007 First Light cast members include Noémie Nakai as female lead Isola, and rock musician and Hunger Games actor Lenny Kravitz as the black-market dealing baddy Bawma.
Image credit: IOI
007 First Light is set to arrive on 27th May across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It’s also coming to Nintendo Switch 2, but its release has been delayed until an unspecified time this summer. The game’s title song – aptly just known as First Light – is sung by Lana Del Rey, and was written and composed by the Born to Die singer along with David Arnold, marking the return of the composer to the Bond franchise after almost two decades.
Alex Donaldson recently got a closer look at 007 First Light, calling it “so much more than Hitman” and “the ultimate composite video game”.