'Bond 24' isn't going to have it easy. With all its critical acclaim and box office success, ‘Skyfall’ will be pretty hard to top. But it won't be impossible. We know the untitled 'Bond 24' is coming in 2014 and will return 'Skyfall' writer John Logan and possibly director Sam Mendes, so we have a very good shot at this new era of Bond getting even better. [Spoilers ahead for 'Skyfall'...]

What we presume about the future of the series, at least Craig’s run, is that it’s headed toward some reinstated familiar ground. By its conclusion, ‘Skyfall’ brought back the role of Q, the character of Miss Moneypenny and the somewhat antiquated idea of a male M. What’s next, a shark tank? Actually, if taken seriously, that wouldn’t be the worst idea to revisit. Logan and Mendes can take that suggestion, as well as these other tips for how to make ‘Bond 24' even better than 'Skyfall.'

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    The Villain

    It will be very difficult to outdo Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva. He’s like Heath Ledger’s Joker in that regard (and in other regards, too). The only solution is to go somewhere safe, like arch-nemesis Blofeld. Of course, the name Blofeld is not available due to legal reasons, but we could see there being an obvious equivalent at the head of the Quantum organization. One other way to play it different would be to have this villain (or whatever kind of villain is employed) be a woman. Make her an older yet attractive figure who could play on Bond’s lost mother figure of M and also possibly fill a sexual role in the film as well. Helen Mirren would be a symbolic choice, while Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve and Kim Basinger would all work too.

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  • 2

    Bond Girls

    If the villain is a woman, this takes some of the work out of developing the usual Bond Girl roles. Still, one of the criticisms with ‘Skyfall’ has been with its supporting ladies, not using good girl Eve enough and making femme fatale Severine fairly uninteresting and literally disposable. Unfortunately, it looks like Eve is now bound to an office, so main villain or not, there needs to be a female character with substance. Also, a fun name. It’s been awhile since we had a suggestive name like Pussy Galore and Holly Goodhead. They’re silly, but they a clever one shouldn’t take away from the seriousness of the present Bond tone. Even a very minor character like Plenty O’Toole would suffice for fan service.

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    Gadgets

    Another minor criticism with ‘Skyfall’ has been the lack of fun gadgetry, especially given the return of the Q role. The film even self-reflexively jokes about the lack, so it’s not something the filmmakers were unaware of. As much as the bare-bones approach is logical to the plot and tone of the latest film, there must be some clever contraptions that could also fit into the modern Bond world. Obviously it’s hard when the civilian world has all-in-one phones that are hard to top, but we urge Logan to be up for the challenge.

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    Henchmen

    We’re all for realistic, edgier, gritter, serious, etc. Bond, but that doesn’t have to exclude attempts to add iconic characters to the series history. There hasn’t been a truly memorable henchman in some time, and bringing one in could be the answer to following up the great villain of ‘Skyfall.’ It doesn’t even have to be a new character. We’ve seen Michael Shannon suggested for the role of Bond villain recently, but he’d also make a great henchman, specifically Jaws. He’s rather short for the role, but Craig is also a fairly short Bond, and Shannon looks so much like a more handsome Richard Kiel. Then again, Kiel is still alive and could probably just return. Do the producers still own the rights to the character?

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