Sam Mendes is wasting no time in shaking up the "James Bond" franchise.
According to BBC, the agent for British actor Ben Whishaw has confirmed that the 31-year old will appear in "Skyfall" as MI6 gadget guru Q, the tech wizard who supplies James Bond his always interesting gizmos. The casting will mark the first time that an actor playing Q is younger than the Bond star; Daniel Craig is 43 years old.
The role of Q was played for 36 years by Desmond Llewelyn, who first appeared in 1963's "From Russia With Love," and went on to star in every Bond film, aside from Roger Moore's bow in "Live and Let Live," until he passed away in 1999. Peter Burton played him as Major Boothroyd in 1962's "Dr. No," and John Cleese bookended by taking on the part in 2002's "Die Another Day."
Mendes, who promises an entirely original, non-book adventure for Craig in his third go round as 007.
Javier Bardem will be a villain, Naomi Harris will take on the character of Eve, Bérénice Marlohe is the next Bond Girl, Sévérine, Albert Finney will play Judi Dench's boss at British Intelligence, and Ralph Fiennes has some sort of role, as well.
Whishaw is best known in the UK for roles in TV series such as "The Hour" and "Criminal Justice," and has appeared in the Bob Dylan bio film "I'm Not There" and the big screen adaptation of "The Tempest."
For more, click over to the BBC.