No Villiers for Bond 22
MI6.co reports that Tobias Menzies will not return to Bond 22 to reprise the role of M’s assistant Villiers.
The news comes directly from Menzies, who says
Sad news for all Villiers fans, he is no more! Casino Royale was his first and last stand. May he rest in peace.
I think this is a shame. I didn’t like or dislike Villiers; it wasn’t much of a role, but establishing the reality of Bond’s life means establishing a cast of characters. MI6 should be a real location with real employees. That’s why fans loved Robinson and Tanner, and why Moneypenny is important. That sort of continuity is much more meaningful than whether a movie directly references or follows a previous movie.
Ultimate James Bond Fan Blog 
December 20, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Just to keep on track with my theory: Villiers is gone because M’s new assistant, Miss Moneypenny will be taking over the reigns.
December 20, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Peter, you totally cheer me up.
December 27, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I am very disappointed that Villiers will not reappear, and agree with the poster – you need a set cast of characters for backstory. Villiers was a nice contrast to Bond, and worked well with Judi Dench as M, and the role was realistic in portraying the administrative aides to high government officials. How can Villiers not reappear when the plot of Bond 22 is supposed to be a direct follow-on to Casino Royale? Also, if M has a woman as her assistant, MI6 would feel too “feminized”, and even in 2008, that just would not be realistic. Menzies was not allowed to showcase his talents in the role of Villiers, but he is an extraordinary actor.
December 28, 2007 at 10:09 am
Well-thought-out reply, Jct. I haven’t seen this actor in anything else, I’ll have to look into his resumé.
December 28, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Check out HBO’s “Rome” season 1 and season 2 DVDs (unabridged version). Tobias Menzies played Marcus Junius Brutus. He was also in Foyle’s War, Midsommer Murders, Casualty, Relief of Belsen, ITV’s Persuasion (Jane Austen Season) and has a small part as the naval officer at Dunkirk beach in Atonement. He does a lot of stage work, and has worked with top British directors and actors, to uniformly glowing reviews. He is a noted classical actor.
Villiers was more than a secretary – he was an executive aide of sorts to an important official. In the backstory, Villiers could probably have an Oxbridge undergraduate degree, with an advanced degree from the London School of Economics. He reminds me of the government aides I see here in Washington DC. A government executive/administrative aide is a very responsible position to hold – I know: my husband, when he was a commander in the Navy, was the executive aide to an Assistant Secretary of the Navy (US).
January 25, 2008 at 2:25 pm
[…] by Deborah Lipp on January 25, 2008 As I have been complaining about the lack of a cast of regulars at MI6, I’m delighted to learn that Chief of Staff Bill […]
October 15, 2008 at 4:36 am
Agreee with jct comments about Tobias
I wonder what happened to villiers, why waste a good actor