Featured Image Credit: IO Interactive / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Topics: Features, Interview, James Bond
After it was originally announced that IO Interactive would be developing a new James Bond game back in 2020, I was immediately on board.
Given the studio’s history in creating James Bond-like experiences in the Hitman games—especially in the recent World of Assassination trilogy—it was clear to anyone familiar with the series that the company had the right chops to bring in a fresh take on the character that respected the series’ long-lasting legacy.
“The funny thing is, having worked on the Hitman franchise for decades now on and off, I have personally always been inspired by Bond,” says art director Rasmus Poulsen, who likens his work on Hitman as an “audition” for working on 007 First Light.
“So what Bond has been doing for a long time in terms of aesthetics and locations that feel just out of reach, it gives it a really cool air of, ‘I want to be present there’, ‘I want to go there’, and that inspiration carried its way into Hitman in many respects. And so for me personally having been inspired by Bond, it feels like coming home.”
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After playing through the first few hours of 007 First Light, which you can read about here, what really strikes me about this iteration of Bond (as played by Dexter: Original Sin's Patrick Gibson) is that he’s a close interpretation of the original character as written by Ian Fleming, nailing the mannerisms and characterisation of the text in ways the film series never has.
“When doing something that's as old as Bond, it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people,” Poulsen said regarding pulling from different eras of the franchise. “So, we were obsessed with analysing the DNA of the character. He’s a man of action, he’s front-footed, he has an unfathomable sense of justice, and he's a charmer. Those are among the core values that dictate who he is.
“I think, you know, with Bond as a character, because he is so established, it's easy to land in a territory that feels a little bit overplayed. At the same time of course, you have to deliver on the tenets of the character. You have to deliver something that is unmistakably Bond. The charm, the confidence, and having this sense of forward momentum as a person.”
Fleming’s Bond wasn’t necessarily the dashing gentleman we see in a lot of the films. Famously described by the author as a “blunt instrument”, Bond is depicted as more of a sophisticated brute; good-looking and intelligent, but with a cold and ruthless exterior. When he comes across as suave, it's more a face he feels he needs to wear to mask the unpleasant things he does.
Each actor who has portrayed Bond on screen has fit within this characterisation in some form, but none have ever quite been able to fit a ‘book-accurate’ depiction. Timothy Dalton’s portrayal in Licence To Kill (which Poulsen cites as one of his favourite 007 movies) comes close to that, as well as the rebooted Bond as played by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
On the other hand, it feels like Gibson’s Bond is a lot closer to the character as portrayed in the books, exhibiting a personality more in-line with how Fleming established him. He even has the iconic facial scar, a trait that hasn’t been seen on-screen thus far.
Poulsen says it was “absolutely important,” to include that aspect of Bond’s physical appearance. “We felt like it was a wonderful thing to finally be true to that. Obviously, he's younger and you know a little less dark-haired, so there's some steps where we double down and some steps where we change it up a little bit to keep it fresh.”
Speaking about Gibson’s portrayal of these key tenets of the character, Poulsen said that he delivers a “unique energy” to the character.
“To move into the world with that youthfulness in mind, what Paddy also brings is sort of a distinct young earnestness to the role, where he isn't gullible. He isn't a young fool, however, he is also not yet broken in and broken by decades of the craft. He's still cool, but he isn't fully formed yet.”
It was this idea of watching Gibson’s Bond grow into his role as the game progresses, with the player experiencing that alongside him in an interactive nature, that really sold me on the idea of IO Interactive doing an origin story. With this being the first Bond game since 007 Legends in 2012, it would make less sense to feature an experienced Bond in his prime when players haven’t had the chance to step into these shoes for themselves yet.
Poulsen insists this aspect of the game makes it “not a rehash of Casino Royale” (the 2006 film was also a rebooted 007 origin story), saying that “for us doing a young Bond, we felt it was a great step to have an opportunity to tell a story about how he entered this world and at the same time give that experience to the player, so that they are one-to-one with the experience in entering the space, learning about it and learning the rules of the spy game.”
He credits MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) as being easy to collaborate with when it came to designing the look and feel of 007 First Light’s youthful take. “I would say the discussions have been easy where I expected them to be difficult, and difficult where I expected to be easy.
“The pitch is quite clear what it's about. The young James Bond steps into the field of spycraft and earns his number, right? That's a very clear statement. And with that clarity, all the discussions we're having with our partners are as clear.”
007 First Light will release on 27 May for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is also expected later in the summer. Poulsen says that the road to launch has been “a crescendo of a build-up”, and that “the reactions we're getting become more and more in line with what we were hoping.”