The final pieces of the Casino Royale puzzle have fallen into place. As many expected, the beautiful Eva Green has taken the role of Vesper Lynd. More surprising is the casting of Jeffrey Wright, and honest to Christ actor, as the CIA agent Felix Leiter.
Wright won’t be the first black Leiter in the series – Never Say Never Again featured a black man in the role, although whether that film is really part of the series is up to your discretion. Leiter has never been really nailed down on film anyway – he’s been young, old, fat and crippled, so who’s to say what the guy looks like. What’s really interesting, though, is that Wright isn’t going to just saunter through this role, and between his casting and the fact that Daniel Craig is the new Bond, I have a lot of hope for this reboot. Craig and Wright have worked together, as well – both appear in the upcoming Invasion of the Body Snatchers sorta-remake, The Visiting.
As for Eva Green – beats me. Bernardo Bertolucci, who discovered her for his The Dreamers, once said she is "so beautiful it’s indecent," but I’ve not seen her in enough to judge her as an actress. I have, however, seen her out of enough to judge her as a hottie.