Forget who’s playing 007 in the next James Bond movie! The real question we should be asking is who the next James Bond villain is going to be. Much like any great Batman movie, most (if not all) of James Bond’s greatest adventures all have a stellar villain to go with them. If James Bond is a shaken (not stirred) martini, then the villains he faces are the main course to pair with it. However, what if we told you there was a James Bond villain you’ve never heard of, and he just so happens to be played by a beloved Oscar-nominated actor with a long history of trying to kill Spider-Man?
Believe it or not, Willem Dafoe played a major antagonist role in a James Bond story that is not a feature film. In addition to filmmaking, the James Bond intellectual property also has a long and reputable history in the world of video games. We’re not just talking about a fun movie tie-in game or two, but truly influential masterpieces that completely changed the industry, such as the revolutionary FPS game based on Goldeneye. Following the success of that game in particular, many games have tried to capitalize on that success over the years, with one attempt involving Willem Dafoe and a stellar ensemble cast.
James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
What Is ‘James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing’?
One of the many Bond titles to be developed by Electronic Arts, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing was released on the PlayStation 2, Game Cube, Xbox, and Game Boy Advanced, taking place after the events of one of the worst James Bond movies ever made, Die Another Day. It’s more than possible that the game was planned to release alongside Die Another Day when it released in theaters. However, the game ultimately didn’t release on consoles until 2004.
Actors from the James Bond films reprising their roles in the video games is surprisingly commonplace in the series, as Pierce Brosnan does indeed return to voice 007 in Everything or Nothing. His appearance here technically means that the game is his final performance as James Bond, which honestly makes us feel a little bit better that Die Another Day wasn’t his last hurrah as 007. Judi Dench and John Cleese also return to their roles as M and Q respectively. We’ll get to Dafoe in a moment, but the game’s numerous villains include world-famous model Heidi Klum as one of the game’s numerous femme fatales, as well as the return of Richard Kiel as the fan-favorite henchman Jaws.
Who Does Willem Dafoe Play in ‘James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing’?
Willem Dafoe’s big bad in James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is one Nikolai Diavolo, who has been desiring vengeance against Agent 007 ever since Bond killed his mentor. According to an actual statement from M, Diavolo is “a KGB agent so ruthless, that the KGB itself tried to have him terminated.” We don’t know what’s scarier: The fact that Diavolo apparently did something so ruthless that even the KGB thought it was too far, or the fact M’s statement implies that he’s still a KGB agent even after they tried to kill him.
Unfortunately, that bizarre connection to the KGB and his unique motivation regarding his mentor (who we’ll talk about momentarily because it’s just so strange), are the only interesting things about Nikolai Diavolo. Willem Dafoe simply isn’t given enough to do in Everything or Nothing. Not only is he barely in the game to begin with, but he only has a handful of short interactions with Bond. It’s just bizarre that EA would go through all the money and trouble of getting a well-known actor like Dafoe if you’re not going to use his greatest strengths as an actor. Diavolo feels like a role that could have been played by anyone, and while some may apply a different quality standard to video games as opposed to movies, Willem Dafoe is more than worthy of playing a more memorable Bond villain. How are there two Bond storylines where the villain wears a high-tech suit of armor like they’re the villain of a Saturday morning cartoon? How does that even happen?
Willem Dafoe’s Character Has a Surprising Connection to Roger Moore’s James Bond Movies
We mentioned earlier that Jaws is one of the game’s villains, even though in the movies he only appears in the Roger Moore films, like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. However, that’s not the only connection James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing has to the Moore era. Remember when we said Nikolai Diavolo wanted revenge on Bond for killing his mentor? Well, that mentor was none other than Max Zorin, the main villain that Christopher Walken played in Roger Moore’s final Bond film, A View to a Kill.
This introduces a wild set of implications to the already pretty flimsy Bond canon. Movies with the same James Bond actor will connect now and then, but connecting between the different eras is exceedingly rare. The “James Bond is a codename” theory, which states that James Bond isn’t an actual person but is actually a title for a 007 agent, also doesn’t work here, as Brosnan’s Bond does mention he killed Zorin himself on a bridge just like the movie. Why the game didn’t choose any villain from the Brosnan era is anybody’s guess, but it’s still a pretty fun (if not ridiculous) connection that does make Diavolo more notable in the James Bond history books.
Die Another Day is available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.
