Skyfall the service. Javier Bardem was cast as the film's principal villain, Raoul Silva, a cyberterrorist who is seeking revenge against those he holds responsible for betraying him. Bardem described Silva as "more than a villain", while Craig stated that Bond has a "very important relationship" to Silva. In casting the role, director Sam Mendes admitted that he lobbied hard for Bardem to accept the part. Mendes saw the potential for the character to be recognised as one of the most memorable characters in the series and wanted to create "something [the audience] may consider to have been absent from the
M (James Bond) Marc Forster suggested that Dench's casting gave the character maternal overtones in her relationship with Bond, overtones made overt in "Skyfall", in which Silva repeatedly refers to her as "Mother" and "Mommy". In "Skyfall" she is revealed to be a widow. After the death of Judi Dench's M at the end of "Skyfall", she is succeeded by Gareth Mallory, played by Ralph Fiennes. Mallory had been the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee prior to heading MI6, and is a former in the British Army. He served in Northern Ireland with the "Hereford Regiment" (assumed by many commentators to