"What if?" questions about James Bond

002002
edited January 2013 in Bond Movies Posts: 581
i was thinking what if EON Productions had released Licence to Kill in 1990 therefore having no competition from
other 89 films such as Lethal Weapon or Tim Burton's Batman..would everything had worked out alright and Dalton would
have gotten his next film in 93'

Comments

  • PlykshowPlykshow Kent, United Kingdom
    Posts: 35
    They would have still had problems when Die Hard 2 was released though. I would have liked to see Dalton in another one though. Especially the one they originally had planned for him. It would have ruined the Bond films today because we probably wouldn't have had Goldeneye but it would be interresting to see how it panned out.
  • Being only 6 years old around 1990 I don't have all the facts, but that sure sounds as if it would have helped! Just like if QOS was released in 2009 or 10

    Getting more Dalton movies is still the biggest missed opportunity in the whole series IMO
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    I think 1990 (my birth year) would have helped LTK, because there weren't as many blockbusters compared to 89. Dalton would have probably gotten a third film in 92, at that point, and then Brosnan would have taken over in 95.
  • To the best of my memory, Goodfellas & Dances with Wolves were the only movies worth a damn from 1990, and they weren't action movies. I bet Bond would have done a lot better when I really think about it

    I mean the only action movies I can think of from 1990 were Darkman & RoboCop 2, lol
  • Weren't there legal reasons for why Bond was absent from '89-'95? If so, then moving the film to 1990 wouldn't have helped.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Posts: 4,520
    To give a idea from 1990 til 1995.

    Selection:

    1990 Home Alone / Die Hard 2 / Total Recall / The Godfather 3 / Ghost / Pretty Woman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Back to the Future 3 / The Hunt for Red October / Kindergarden Cop / The Rescuers Down Under / Rocky 5 / Problem Child / RoboCop 2 / Gremlins 2
    1991 Terminator 2 / Beauty and the Beast / Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Hook / Thelma & Louise / The Silence of the Lambs / Father of the Bride / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 / Problem Child 2 / The Naked Gun 2½
    1992 Home Alone 2 / Aladdin / Batman Returns / Basic Instinct / Sister Act / Patriot Games / The Body Guard / Beethoven / Lethal Weapon 3
    1993 Mrs Doubt Fire / Beethoven 2 / Sister Act 2 / Jurassic Park / The Fugitive / Philadelphia / Sleepless in Seattle / A Bronx Tale / Last Action Hero / Cliffhanger / The Three Musketeers / The Firm / Cool Runnings
    1994 Junior / The Lion King / Dumb & Dumber / Speed / True Lies / Ace Ventura: Pet Detective / The Mask / Four Weddings and a Funeral / Clear and Present Danger / The Flintstones / Disclosure / The Santa Clause / Naked Gun 33, 1/3
    1995 Jumanji / Goldeneye / Batman Forever / Die Hard 3
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    1990 would have been a MUCH better year for Bond...
  • edited January 2013 Posts: 12,837
    Would've done better at the box office but Dalton still wouldn't have gotten a third film. The legal issues would've still been there and he still would've ended up leaving the role :(
  • M_Balje wrote:
    To give a idea from 1990 til 1995.

    Selection:

    1990 Home Alone / Die Hard 2 / Total Recall / The Godfather 3 / Ghost / Pretty Woman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Back to the Future 3 / The Hunt for Red October / Kindergarden Cop / The Rescuers Down Under / Rocky 5 / Problem Child / RoboCop 2 / Gremlins 2
    1991 Terminator 2 / Beauty and the Beast / Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / Hook / Thelma & Louise / The Silence of the Lambs / Father of the Bride / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 / Problem Child 2 / The Naked Gun 2½
    1992 Home Alone 2 / Aladdin / Batman Returns / Basic Instinct / Sister Act / Patriot Games / The Body Guard / Beethoven / Lethal Weapon 3
    1993 Mrs Doubt Fire / Beethoven 2 / Sister Act 2 / Jurassic Park / The Fugitive / Philadelphia / Sleepless in Seattle / A Bronx Tale / Last Action Hero / Cliffhanger / The Three Musketeers / The Firm / Cool Runnings
    1994 Junior / The Lion King / Dumb & Dumber / Speed / True Lies / Ace Ventura: Pet Detective / The Mask / Four Weddings and a Funeral / Clear and Present Danger / The Flintstones / Disclosure / The Santa Clause / Naked Gun 33, 1/3
    1995 Jumanji / Goldeneye / Batman Forever / Die Hard 3

    The good, the bad and the ugly!
  • Posts: 1,497
    Wouldn't have made a difference. Summer '90 was no slouch either: Total Recall, Die Hard 2, Dick Tracy, Back to the Future 3
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    '89 was waaaay more competitive though.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Mod edit: What if? speculations have a nasty habit of going cold fast. I have expanded the purpose of this thread to avoid further what ifs. ;-)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    DarthDimi wrote:
    I have expanded the purpose of this thread to avoid further what ifs. ;-)
    Good call IMO!

    Let me ask then, what if John Barry had be able to score LTK instead Of Michael Kamen, do you think that musical old school Bond flavour would have been enough to draw the fans in more effectively despite the change in tone of the film itself (which seemed to me to turn some fans off with its novel approach)?
  • 002 wrote:
    i was thinking what if EON Productions had released Licence to Kill in 1990 therefore having no competition from
    other 89 films such as Lethal Weapon or Tim Burton's Batman..would everything had worked out alright and Dalton would
    have gotten his next film in 93'

    No. Dalton still wouldn't have connected with the audiences in the way that the studio backers would have liked, so although the box office *might* have been a little better he still would have been dragging the franchise down. I'm a huge Dalton fan and I would have loved him to get a third film but it just wasn't in the cards. When I think of all the people I knew back in '89 who didn't like him as Bond I can't imagine any of them suddenly liking him if LTK came out a year later.

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    . When I think of all the people I knew back in '89 who didn't like him as Bond I can't imagine any of them suddenly liking him if LTK came out a year later.
    I sadly concur.
  • It's hard to envisage anybody not liking Timothy Dalton as James Bond. Best 007 ever for me
  • It's hard to envisage anybody not liking Timothy Dalton as James Bond. Best 007 ever for me

    I was (and still am) a huge fan. Sadly, other than myself and a few theatre friends no one else I knew liked him. Friends, family, co-workers...he just didn't connect with any of them. Unfortunately there was a lot more of the general public than there was of us!

  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Ahead of his time.
  • Posts: 562
    Weren't there legal reasons for why Bond was absent from '89-'95? If so, then moving the film to 1990 wouldn't have helped.

    Yes. Changing the release date of LTK wouldn't have done anything to help the legal battle between Eon and McClory. That little spat lasted from 1990 until 1994.

  • DrunkIrishPoetDrunkIrishPoet The Amber Coast
    Posts: 156
    WHAT IF... they had made the "Blofeld Trilogy" in order: THUNDERBALL and then OHMSS (with Sir Sean, natch) and then YOLT. Forget DIAMONDS. Bring in Roger for TMWTGG to reboot the series with Bond's return from the dead.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    That would have been STELLAR!! It would also have made saying goodbye to Conney all the more difficult for the public to accept, and poor Roger would have had a MUCH more difficult time getting accepted IMO.
  • mdo007mdo007 Katy, Texas
    Posts: 259
    I have a cool what if? question: If Casino Royale was made in the 60's as the first Bond film from EON instead of Dr. No and no previous adaptation (that means no bad 1967 spoof parody) had occurred or if Cubby and Saltzman had cooperated with Charles K Feldman for the adaptation and Sean Connery had played James Bond for 1960's Casino Royale instead of 2006 Daniel Craig version, who would you have casted for the movie:

    Vesper Lynd- I always thought Yvonne Furneaux could've fit Vesper:

    6201-13092.gif
    6201.gif

    Felix Leiter-well we could've had Jack Lord or John Gavin (pictured below) as Leiter:

    Imitation_of_Life-John_Gavin.JPG

    Rene Mathis-I don't know who could've play Mathis in the 1960's, any suggestion?

    Le Chiffre- I did like Peter Lorre's portrayal of Le Chiffre in Climax! adaptation of CR I would've wanted EON to get him to play Le Chiffre for Connery, but I had another actor who could've fitted Le Chiffre, Peter Cushing:

    225px-Peter_Cushing.jpg

    Now beside the cast (and any cool casting from any of you), here's my other What if? question involving making CR the first Bond film from EON:

    -Le Chiffre worked for SMERSH in the novel, and Quantum in the 2006 version, who would he have worked for if EON had made CR the first Bond film? SPECTRE?

    -What would Le Chiffre's and SPECTRE's motive for high stake gambling at Casino Royale? Money for financing evil stuff?

    -Where would Casino Royale be located (a fictional location in France in the novel, while in the 2006 version it was Montenegro)?

    -How would the infamous torture scene be handle (god even in the 60's, the torture in the ball sac would not be acceptable on film by censor and 1960's standard)?

    -How would Vesper die, in the novel she died by sleeping pill overdose and in the 2006 version, she suicide by drowning? How would she die in Connery version, SPECTRE assassin kill her when Bond and Vesper reunite at the end of the film? What about Gettler (who work for SPECTRE) tried to kill Bond but Vesper jump and take the bullet for Bond fatally wounding her and Bond shoot and kill Gettler. Bond watch Vesper die and probably want revenge against SPECTRE.

    -Would Vesper's death still haunt Bond and any reminder of her will trigger a "pained" response like the same way after OHMSS, whenever Bond is reminded of Tracy's death, he doesn't want any reminder of Tracy's death and show "pain" when Tracy is being reminded of?
Sign In or Register to comment.