It's a stinker move because for the Bond films to succeed they need to connect to the masses audience, including Americans which are a huge chunk of the incoming ticket prices for films. When you add in an unknown (I'm assuming he'd be unknown to a lot of moviegoers here, that's why I asked if anyone knows what movies this guy's been in to judge that) to a blockbuster like the Bond films, you could be risking a lot on a big franchise like that. For examples, see Timothy Dalton and the guy that did the "On her Majesty's..." Bond movies. They didn't last long solely for that reason. Just because it's Bond doesn't mean you can stick a totally unknown in the lead. If Christian Bale wasn't tied to Batman forever or Hugh Jackman to the X-men films, I'd see them being great choices.