According to a comment the Director of Skyfall made to the media recently, Sam Mendes wanted to up the ante in terms of villainy seen in the 23rd James Bond film.
[It's been] a while since there was a classic … what I would call a classic Bond villain. I’m not saying these guys weren’t great. I thought Mads [Mikkelsen] was particularly good in Casino Royale
But I wanted somebody perhaps a bit more flamboyant, perhaps a bit more frightening, and so I felt like we needed a great actor to achieve that.
Sam Mendes ultimately cast Javier Bardem as the villain Raoul Silva – whose motives remain a closely guarded secret.
About Skyfall – James Bond 23 (2012)
The new Bond movie will star Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney and Judi Dench, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The 007 screenplay will be written by regular James Bond scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, working with John Logan (Gladiator & The Last Samurai). Director of American Beauty and Road To Perdition, Sam Mendes will be directing the new James Bond movie. MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment in a joint statement on 2nd June 2011 announced that “Bond 23″ will go on release in the UK on Friday, 26th October, 2012 and in the USA on 9th November 2012. The first major announcement from EON Productions and Sony Pictures came on 3rd November 2011 in London when the principle cast was announced, along with a rough plot line. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
