A Brief Guide to James Bond's "Spectre," And Who Will Play Blofeld?

The 24th James Bond, Spectre, premiering on November 6, has a new trailer circulating around the internet. Sam Mendes is returning to direct his second (and most likely final) Bond movie. The film centers around Bond's infiltration of a clandestine criminal organization with deep roots in the franchise's history.

For those of you new to the series, here's a quick guide to SPECTRE as it appears throughout the film/novel series.

01
What is SPECTRE?

via ScreenRant

SPECTRE, or Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, is an apolitical criminal organization developed by James Bond author Ian Fleming. The group first appeared in the novel Thunderball and later the first Bond movie Dr. No, better known as the movie with this:

During the height of the Cold War, Bond's heyday, SPECTRE acted as a villain that existed outside of, and outright benefitted from, the tension between the United States and the USSR. Plus, the clandestine group had ties to the Gestapo, and played as Fleming's warning of the continuation of German fascism after the end of WWII.
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02
Who Leads SPECTRE?

via Giphy

Ernst Stavro Blofeld, is the iconic leader of SPECTRE. The often bald, white cat petting super-villain appeared in 6 Bond movies making his final appearance in For Your Eyes Only. If he looks familiar, it's because he inspired one of the most cliche impressions of the 90's:

(Let's all agree to never do this impression again)
03
There Were A Lot of Blofelds

via James Bond Wiki

In the 1960's Connery era James Bond, Blofeld was mostly seen from the face down stroking a white cat, until Donald Pleasance (Halloween) took on the character in You Only Live Twice. After that, no actor played him more than once. If he appears in Spectre later this year, it will be by the sixth actor ever to take the role. Coincidentally, Daniel Craig is the sixth James Bond.
04
So Now Who's Playing Blofeld?

via IGN

Christoph Waltz is definitely the frontrunner to play this generation's Blofeld. He looks like Charles Gray's version, and they dress him in that Nehru jacket in the trailer just to tease fans. But there's a dark horse in this race that Sherlock fans should be excited about.
Also while Waltz seems to be the Blofeld-iest guy around, my money is still on Andrew Scott as the man with the cat. pic.twitter.com/Tjhvcnx6V6
— Brian Truitt (@briantruitt) July 22, 2015
Andrew Scott is probably best known playing Moriarty opposite Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock with a terrifyingly intense energy.

The Twitter debate will rage on until November 6th, but it's comforting to know that either actor would take on this role brilliantly.
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05
In Case You Missed It, Check Out The Trailer

via James Bond 007