The biggest missed opportunities in the Bond franchise

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  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited July 2017 Posts: 28,694
    If they can't secure Aidan Turner for Bond #7 (which you know EON are scrambling to do after Craig phoned in SP), then Seagal is the ultimate choice. He's got the karate skills, so he can do his own stunts, he wears a suit a lot, he can shoot guns convincingly, he can pose cool with those aforementioned guns, and he can totally rock a one-liner like nobody since Connery.

    steven-seagal-e1360530832574.jpg

    "People forget numbers every day, baby. Just make sure this one stays with you: 0-0-7."

    EON are bigger hacks than everyone already thinks if they don't jump on this opportunity now. I'm not surprised that @Thunderfinger was the one to make such a perfect suggestion, being the leading mind of this forum.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,020
    And he can beat the hell out of Ed Killifer.
  • Posts: 1,162
    Revelator wrote: »
    Speaking of lost opportunities, take a look at the original treatment for Octopussy, as reported in the Taschen book:


    Blofeld returns as the primary antagonist, locked in a war with a group of bullion smugglers who carry out low level espionage work, and are led by Octopussy. Blofeld plans to remove M from control of MI6 and replace him with his mole Villiers, M's chief of staff, which would allow him to manipulate the West's secret services. M is assassinated, thus leading to Moneypenny's being fired and replaced, and Bond is framed as a double agent. On the run and eager to clear his name, Bond works with Octopussy and Kamal Khan, an old school friend of Bond's working with the Afghan resistance, to defeat Blofeld and his army chief, Smythe.

    That version of OP does sound intriguing, like a Craig-style Bond adventure 25 years ahead of its time. It would've been a very good adventure for Dalton's Bond. I can't picture Moore's Bond in such a scenario.

    It really makes you wonder why they just didn't take this treatment as a basis for SP. Maybe apart from having M killed.
  • Posts: 19,339
    If they can't secure Aidan Turner for Bond #7 (which you know EON are scrambling to do after Craig phoned in SP), then Seagal is the ultimate choice. He's got the karate skills, so he can do his own stunts, he wears a suit a lot, he can shoot guns convincingly, he can pose cool with those aforementioned guns, and he can totally rock a one-liner like nobody since Connery.

    steven-seagal-e1360530832574.jpg

    He also weighs about 20 stone now :

    seagal.jpg

  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    barryt007 wrote: »
    If they can't secure Aidan Turner for Bond #7 (which you know EON are scrambling to do after Craig phoned in SP), then Seagal is the ultimate choice. He's got the karate skills, so he can do his own stunts, he wears a suit a lot, he can shoot guns convincingly, he can pose cool with those aforementioned guns, and he can totally rock a one-liner like nobody since Connery.

    steven-seagal-e1360530832574.jpg

    He also weighs about 20 stone now :

    seagal.jpg

    Good to see Bella Emberg still getting work.
  • Posts: 19,339
    barryt007 wrote: »
    If they can't secure Aidan Turner for Bond #7 (which you know EON are scrambling to do after Craig phoned in SP), then Seagal is the ultimate choice. He's got the karate skills, so he can do his own stunts, he wears a suit a lot, he can shoot guns convincingly, he can pose cool with those aforementioned guns, and he can totally rock a one-liner like nobody since Connery.

    steven-seagal-e1360530832574.jpg

    He also weighs about 20 stone now :

    seagal.jpg

    Good to see Bella Emberg still getting work.

    Hahaha very good...

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    barryt007 wrote: »
    If they can't secure Aidan Turner for Bond #7 (which you know EON are scrambling to do after Craig phoned in SP), then Seagal is the ultimate choice. He's got the karate skills, so he can do his own stunts, he wears a suit a lot, he can shoot guns convincingly, he can pose cool with those aforementioned guns, and he can totally rock a one-liner like nobody since Connery.

    steven-seagal-e1360530832574.jpg

    He also weighs about 20 stone now :

    seagal.jpg

    @barryt007, who cares how many stone you are when you are strong enough to throw twenty literal stones at anyone with the lip to insult you. Seagal doesn't take kindly to those that are so audacious to insult him. Consider this a warning or get blasted, fool!

    Apologize to Master Seagal now, or all these children will die!

    M4f6GXA.gif?noredirect

    Do you like the feeling of all that blood on your hands?
  • Posts: 19,339
    Ooops sorry Mr Seagal.....my bad,as you American's say !!!
  • Posts: 1,386
    Tanya Roberts has always seemed pretty miscast as a geologist in AVTAK to me. Whether Moore or Dalton made the film, I've always wished for an older actress (than Roberts) and someone who (in my mind anyway) had a little more sophistication--someone like Meg Foster.
  • Posts: 15,099
    barryt007 wrote: »
    If they can't secure Aidan Turner for Bond #7 (which you know EON are scrambling to do after Craig phoned in SP), then Seagal is the ultimate choice. He's got the karate skills, so he can do his own stunts, he wears a suit a lot, he can shoot guns convincingly, he can pose cool with those aforementioned guns, and he can totally rock a one-liner like nobody since Connery.

    steven-seagal-e1360530832574.jpg

    He also weighs about 20 stone now :

    seagal.jpg

    In doughnuts eating contests he must be a champion.
  • edited October 2017 Posts: 1,970
    Them destroying the Blofeld trilogy
  • LFSLFS
    edited May 2020 Posts: 40
    An adaption of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with Sean Connery is the obvious choice, so I'm going with different suggestions:

    1. A "Moonraker" in the 60s, starring Sean Connery, directed by Terence Young

    The novel "Moonraker" has that great atmosphere of a little chamber drama, it's a classic English crime story. Bond's love story which isn't a love story underlines the subtle tone of the book. The movie "Moonraker" from 1978 is such a disgrace that they should have saved the costs for production and instead flown the crew to Ian Fleming's grave so that they could have collectively urinated on it - would have been much less expensive while delivering the same result! Back in the 60s, Terence Young would have brought his masterful eye for thriller and suspense to that story. Oh, what an incredible picture we missed out on, I would even trade "Goldfinger" for it!

    2. "Casino Royale" with Sean Connery in 1967

    Charles Feldman should have given Connery his one million bucks and we would have gotten one of the most important Bond stories with the best Bond actor. Plus, EON might have had the chance to film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with Connery after all, because "You Only Live Twice" would have been delayed and Austria's snow might have come back in the meantime (which was a main factor in the shuffling of the two movies).

    3. "Colonel Sun" in 1971 instead of "Diamonds Are Forever"

    As fun as "Diamonds Are Forever" is (and it IS great fun!), they should have used Connery's comeback as an opportunity for acquiring the rights to Amis' book; with Terence Young back in the director's chair it could have easily become one of the greatest Bond movies.

    4. A third Timothy Dalton movie

    Well, that is nothing new, since many share that wish with me. I doubt Dalton would have liked to stay around for much longer, but he was absolutely ready to film that lost outing in the early 90s. I've seen the script ("Property of a Lady") and it certainly looks interesting. I heard Roger Spottiswoode (allegedly not interested) was considered as director, though, and that would have been a mistake.

    5. A good fifth (and last) movie with Pierce Brosnan

    Pierce Brosnan is my least favorite James Bond, but even he didn't deserve to go out with the dialogue "I'm so good" - "Especially when you're bad...".
    What the producers did to him was shameful; Albert R. Broccoli would have never basically fired his main actor, especially given the enormous success of the movies.
    Brosnan should have ended his tenure with an exciting, more realistic James Bond movie in 2004.
  • Posts: 15,099
    I don't think Brosnan deserved a fifth movie as much as he deserved a better fourth.
  • QQ7QQ7 Croatia
    edited February 2019 Posts: 371
    Pierce Brosnan not being singed in the 80's, because of Remington Steele.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,195
    Hugh Jackman.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,593
    EON should really release these abandoned scripts into books. OP and Property of a Lady deserve it.

    In the future, EON should start making movies from the other non Ian Fleming books. They can plan better, and it would be better than a "original screenplay" by P & W. There is good material in other books not by Fleming.

  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited February 2019 Posts: 6,273
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    EON should really release these abandoned scripts into books. OP and Property of a Lady deserve it.

    In the future, EON should start making movies from the other non Ian Fleming books. They can plan better, and it would be better than a "original screenplay" by P & W. There is good material in other books not by Fleming.

    Eon has a history of using elements from old scripts, so they are keeping them under lock and key. IIRC, GE used elements that sat around at Eon for years.

    Clive Owen is a big missed opportunity.
  • Posts: 1,680
    Craig's tenure getting off to a rough start after CR. Eon could have done way better between 2006-2012
  • Posts: 1,165
    A fifth Pierce movie. Not to take anything from Craig, or Casino (Which is a perfect film, thanks mostly to Dan's perfomance), but Pierce was such a great Bond and a wonderful spokesperson for the role.
    The fact that he was sacked after DAD and P&W survived is a joke. Brosnan was a scapegoat for that movie, despite him doing his absolute best in the movie and putting up with the crap that Tamahori, Barbara, Michael, Purvis and Wade were making him do.
  • Posts: 3,336
    Ski chase in Spectre
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,020
    bondjames wrote: »
    tmg-facebook_social.jpg
    For what it's worth, I personally really enjoyed Under Siege 2. Casey Ryback was quite a character.

    Everett McGill is presented as this tough, threatening bad guy, but only seconds into the final fight with Seagal he's already running for his life.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,593
    I know people are complaining about Bond 25 to out with news. However, I am more anxious to hear what Dynamite has in store, as they are better in quality on average. Bring on some news, Dynamite! And EON! It would be a missed opportunity not to continue with adapting Fleming's books, and bring more characters back like Oddjob in the future. We support you, Dynamite.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    Posts: 5,970
    Ski chase in Spectre
    +1
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    LFS wrote: »
    2. "Casino Royale" with Sean Connery in 1967

    Charles Feldman should have given Connery his one million bucks and we would have gotten one of the most important Bond stories with the best Bond actor. Plus, EON might have had the chance to film "On Her Majesty´s Secret Service" with Connery after all, because "You Only Live Twice" would have been delayed and Austria´s snow might have come back in the meantime.

    You mean two downer endings in a row? I wonder if EON would have agreed about those.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,593
    Walecs wrote: »
    LFS wrote: »
    2. "Casino Royale" with Sean Connery in 1967

    Charles Feldman should have given Connery his one million bucks and we would have gotten one of the most important Bond stories with the best Bond actor. Plus, EON might have had the chance to film "On Her Majesty´s Secret Service" with Connery after all, because "You Only Live Twice" would have been delayed and Austria´s snow might have come back in the meantime.

    You mean two downer endings in a row? I wonder if EON would have agreed about those.

    EON would approve now.
  • Posts: 15,099
    mattjoes wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    tmg-facebook_social.jpg
    For what it's worth, I personally really enjoyed Under Siege 2. Casey Ryback was quite a character.

    Everett McGill is presented as this tough, threatening bad guy, but only seconds into the final fight with Seagal he's already running for his life.

    I hated that movie.
  • cwl007cwl007 England
    Posts: 611
    Although not THE franchise a huge missed opportunity in the world of Bond was whoever decided to make CR '67 into a spoof. A proper standalone movie would have been so much better than the rubbish they made instead. They even had David Niven, an early name suggested by Fleming for EON's Bond, and then wasted him.
  • Posts: 17,740
    cwl007 wrote: »
    Although not THE franchise a huge missed opportunity in the world of Bond was whoever decided to make CR '67 into a spoof. A proper standalone movie would have been so much better than the rubbish they made instead. They even had David Niven, an early name suggested by Fleming for EON's Bond, and then wasted him.

    This interview with director Joseph McGrath (one of several directors on the film) is a good insight to the production of CR67, and why it turned out the way it did. I must admit I actually enjoy CR67, but a standalone non-comedic Bond film would have been interesting.

  • Posts: 2,914
    cwl007 wrote: »
    Although not THE franchise a huge missed opportunity in the world of Bond was whoever decided to make CR '67 into a spoof. A proper standalone movie would have been so much better than the rubbish they made instead.

    Yes, and the producer already had an excellent script by Ben Hecht, perhaps the greatest screenwriter in classic Hollywood--that was faithful to Fleming and would have given the 2006 film a run for its money. For more, read Jeremy Duns's e-book Rogue Royale.

  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    Posts: 2,632
    cwl007 wrote: »
    Although not THE franchise a huge missed opportunity in the world of Bond was whoever decided to make CR '67 into a spoof. A proper standalone movie would have been so much better than the rubbish they made instead. They even had David Niven, an early name suggested by Fleming for EON's Bond, and then wasted him.

    The reason why CR67 was made into a spoof was because although Feldman attempted to partner with Broccoli & Saltzman to make CR an official Bond film, they said no because of the poor experience with Kevin McClory. He then went to Sean Connery to see if he would do the film but he asked for too much money to appear, so Feldman declined. He realized that a serious James Bond film couldn’t go without Connery so he decided on turning it into a spoof.
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