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1958 - Casino Royale - Cary Grant
1959 - Live and Let Die - Cary Grant
1960 - Moonraker - Cary Grant
1961 - Diamonds Are Forever - Cary Grant
1962 - From Russia With Love - Cary Grant
1964 - Dr. No - Richard Burton
1965 - Goldfinger - Richard Burton
1966 - Thunderball - Richard Burton
1968 - The Spy Who Loved Me - Oliver Reed
1969 - On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - Oliver Reed
1970 - You Only Live Twice - Oliver Reed
1971 - The Man With The Golden Gun - Oliver Reed
That’s all I’ve got. Wanted to keep this strictly Fleming, but free of the short stories.
The Young helmed Goldfinger
Striking a deal with Charlie Feldman and making a true Casino Royale with Sean
Sean doing OHMSS, Roger doing OHMSS, Young Dalton in OHMSS
The next film as DAF being the revenge driven gritty film or DAF with John Gavin
TMWTGG as the original Mankiewicz version with more focus on the Bond-Villain relationship.
Spy directed by Hamilton
FYEO directed by Young or Hunt
Dalton’s third film that should have happened.
Brosnan getting a proper film to go out on.
My own: CR ‘06 with Jason Issacs in a proper adaptation of the novel that maintains the film series identity instead of what we wound up with-or a new film entirely.
I will try to develop my own timeline, but these few ideas are very close to what I would have want to see. To be honest, I have a curious fascination with what would have been a DAF starring Gavin.... And, at the same time, I would really like to see Lazenby in a second film, without it necessarily being a direct follow-up to OHMSS.
Plus, the plot for POAL is the original one - Sir Henry Lee Ching (Ferguson in my timeline) threatening to unleash a computer virus to cripple every military and commercial system in the world unless Britain withdraws from Hong Kong. I prefer that over the Scimitar stealth fighter plot and the brief Vegas jaunt that the revised draft offered.
CARY GRANT:
Casino Royale (1952)
Live and Let Die (1953)
Moonraker (1954)
Diamonds Are Forever (1956)
From Russia With love (1957)
Dr. No (1958)
SEAN CONNERY:
Goldfinger (1960)
For Your Eyes Only (1961)
Thunderball (1963) (also produced by Kevin McClory, same twist but shorter)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1965)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1966)
You Only Live Twice (1968)
GEORGE LAZENBY:
The Man with The Golden Gun (1970)
Octopussy (1972)
The Living Daylights (1974)
The Property of A Lady (1976)
007 in New York (1979)
A View To A Kill (1981)
Risico (1983)
TIMOTHY DALTON:
The Hildebrand Rarity (1985)
Quantum of Solace (1987)
Colonel Sun (1989)
The British Spy (1992)
Nobody Lives Forever (1993)
PIERCE BROSNAN:
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World is Not Enough (1999)
The Catastrophe of Espionage (2000) (weird title)
Die Another Day (2002)
Everything or Nothing (2003)
Phoenix Rising (2004) (released earlier in spring)
DANIEL CRAIG (oh boy, this is too much...):
The Secret Agent (2005)
007 in Los Angeles (2006)
The Facts of Death (2007)
Death by Climate (2008)
Honor Amongst Spies (2010)
Skyfall (2012)
Spectre (2014)
High Time To Kill (2017)
Never Dream of Dying (2019)
The Last Assignment (Fall 2021)
HENRY CAVILL (future movies, highly futuristic):
Forever And The Day (Christmas 2022)
When The Blood Trickles (2023)
Some Kind of Spy (2025)
The Advice to Offer (2027)
The World With Spies (2029)
Black and Gold (2031)
Blood Stone (2033)
Cold Spy (2035)
The British Sendup (2037)
That's all there is to it... ;) Yeah some titles may make a little sense.
Thank you! :) I did forget to add Roger Moore
With a few huge exceptions if I retain a film with the actor who initially played the role (i.e. FRWL, TB, etc) I'm not going to go WAY geeky and demand that this or that be changed. Would take too long. So generally, aside from some minor changes, those films will remain as-is. I'm also not going to add in too many "new" titles using unfilmed books, although kudos to all of you for using your imagination with those.
SEAN CONNERY
Casino Royale (1962) -- dir. Terence Young
Ever since I saw that opening casino sequence in DN with Connery I have longed to turn back time and see a proper adaptation. This would hew pretty close to Fleming. Maybe inject a bit more action if the minor budget allows. This has plenty enough tension and suspense to be an incredibly suave-yet-gruff espionage thriller.
From Russia With Love (1963) -- dir. Terence Young
Pretty much as-is.
Dr. No (1964) -- dir. Terence Young
Utilize the fact that in '64 they'd have a much larger budget. Maybe hew a bit closer to the novel, but otherwise I'd just like to see a more blockbuster style version of the film they made on the shoestring budget in '62.
Moonraker (1965) -- dir. Peter Hunt / Terence Young (co)
Stick to the book. This is maybe my favorite Fleming book so I'd love to see it adapted. Otherwise, sure, inject it with some cinematic bombast but retain the gist.
Thunderball (1967) -- dir. Terence Young / Peter Hunt (co)
BLOFELD TRILOGY. Pretty much as-is, with some improved editing. Connery's a bit older in this time line, but he remains in-shape because he's committed to the role and Saltzmann isn't making him mad or whatever. I read @Birdleson comments and I 100% agree and would do it the same way. Savalas as Blofeld (although he'd likely still be hidden here mostly). WIth a committed Connery (which I'm allowed to have since this is a fantasy) this would be both the perfect send-off for the best Bond actor and undoubtedly the high point of the series. WIth 4 films under his belt audiences would already have embraced that "Sean Connery IS James Bond" as the posters proclaimed etc.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) -- dir. Peter Hunt
As-is. Obviously Connery replaces Lazenby as a mature-looking 007. End titles play "We Have all the Time in the World" instead of blasting the theme.
You Only Live Twice (1970) -- dir. Peter Hunt
Adhere to the book. An incredible send-off for Sean. Keep the Garden of Death stuff as psychedelic as the book depicts it. Don't be afraid to get a little weird.
ROGER MOORE
Live and Let Die (1972) -- dir. Guy Hamilton
I still think this is a pretty great introduction for Moore as Bond, so we'll keep most of this. Bit more from the book. Doesn't Felix get mauled in this one (in the novel?). If so, I'd like to see the film depict that, and then for continuity's sake Felix wears a prosthetic from now on. I'd love that. My heart says keep J.W. because I hope that audiences realize we're supposed to be laughing at him and his racism and such rather than with him.
Diamonds are Forever (1973) -- dir. Guy Hamilton
So... we have to change some things obviously because Blofeld isn't in the novel, but otherwise I'd like to keep the dark humor and keep this pretty close to how it is. So obviously we change up the villains and such, but I want to keep Wint and Kidd and the tone generally. I think Moore would absolutely kill it.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1975) -- dir. Lewis Gilbert
This would be as-is. Iconic stuff. Maybe change the title in case "fake" Eon wants to use the actual novel at some point? Maybe for Broz or Dalton or Craig?
Goldfinger -- dir. Lewis Gilbert
So, this is a weird one, because I adore the GF we have, and I love what Hamilton did with it (and thus changed the series forever). So this is in no way me saying I wish the original GF were different, I'm just trying to be realistic about Connery not being able to do THAT many films, and I want to see so many other films with Connery so this is the one that had to move to Moore. Plus, I think Moore would kill it. Let Gilbert give it some more bombast than Hamilton maybe would've, but keep the lightness of touch and sleekness. Let Moore play in "god mode" Bond that he does in the Gilbert directed films. It would fit perfectly.
"Moonraker" (1979) -- dir. Lewis Gilbert
So, I need a new title because I used MR already. But I'm bad at titles. And I want the movie pretty much as-is so we get a lot of Gilbert's influence on the series because I love him. Maybe change space to something else? BUt I still want Barry's "journey into space" song.
Octopussy (1981) -- dir. John Glen
As-is. Trim some of the more outlandish stuff (you know the stuff if you're on this forum). But otherwise, I love this film's tonal mish-mash. I think it's a great send-off for Moore's Bond. My only main change: give Octopussy as a character more screentime, let their relationship develop a bit more. Let this be a romantic send-off for Moore. She is the only Bond girl in his tenure that I felt he ever truly had great chemistry with.
TIMOTHY DALTON
For Your Eyes Only (1983) -- dir. John Glen
Pretty much as-is. The screenplay would be adjusted slightly to fit Dalton's portrayal a bit more, but otherwise since this is often considered Moore's "serious" Bond film, I think it suits Dalton phenomenally well.
From A View to a Kill (1985) -- dir. John Glen
Changing this a lot. Expand on the original story. But I simply cannot live in a world where we don't get May Day and Zorin, so honestly just find a way to shoe-horn them in. I don't care. It's my timeline, lol. Even though I love the film we got for its own weird, old, creaky reasons, I'm fine with changing a lot of this. Just give me Walken and Jones.
The Living Daylights (1987) -- dir. Martin Campbell
I have no idea if Campbell was directing films yet, but I maintain that Glen had way too many, and I would've liked to see Campbell do more. We're retaining the majority of this film, but since we're letting Campbell direct we will obviously have a slightly different tone and other changes in directorial tendencies. The action will remain top-notch. Since hindsight is 20-20 let's not have Bond team up with what would come to be known as the Taliban.
The Hildebrand Rarity (1989) -- dir. Martin Campbell
I said I wasn't going to use too many "unused" titles but then I realized that because I'm keeping these films on a fairly consistent release schedule, there's going to be so so so many more than there are in reality. Expand on the story.
Licence to Kill (1991) -- dir. John Glen
John Glen's swan song as a director, he comes back refreshed after taking a much-needed break. The film has superior production value, and it leans away from its American obsessions since two years have passed since the "real" release date and the producers are no longer trying to replicate American action cinema as much. Less gore. Keep the general tone. Allow the romance to develop more between Bond and Pam (yes, I like sending off the 007s on a positive note). Keep "bless your heart," for god's sake.
PIERCE BROSNAN
GoldenEye (1995) -- dir. Martin Campbell
I'm giving them 4 years instead of 6. Same movie pretty much.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) -- dir. John Woo
Lol, why not. If it's going to have all the ridiculous gonzo action sequences, let Woo take a stab at it rather than Spottiswoode. Keep the cinematographer, though, for the love of god because TND is gorgeous. Bring on the doves. Keep much of the film the same. I think this one has aged fairly well, aside from some of the action. By bringing in Woo I'm just letting this be the wild card in terms of action sequences. We have a different group writing dialogue for these Brosnan films. Idk who. Just, someone to clean up the juvenile stuff.
Colonel Sun (1999) -- dir. Michael Apted
Give Apted another shot with a better script. I'm stealing this idea from @Birdleson shamelessly because I think it's excellent. No more TWINE. This will hew pretty close to the book. Judi Dench is M, btw.
Die Another Day (2001) -- dir. Lee Tamahori
Yeah, I'm letting Tamahori give it another shot. Again, we have different screenwriters. There's a surprisingly considerable amount of this I'd keep. I like the cast by and large, except let's not change the villain's race so whichever actor they decide to go with, keep that. Halle Berry can stay because there's a much better script remember. I think the "bones" of this plot are quite good things just get ridiculous later on.
Icebreaker (2003) -- dir. Quentin Tarantino
Why not. This means he doesn't do Kill Bill, but who cares. Do whatever you want. Change the title, I don't care. Let's see how it goes.
----
I'm tired and ran out of time. I'll throw in Craig's tenure later. What do y'all think?
Ironically it sounds like you want Purvis and Wade's script before Tamahori was brought onboard. Maybe you'd prefer a Die Another Day with Tamahori's excesses reined in? I think that really could have been something. As you say, there's good material in the story. There's good to be found in Tamahori's direction, too. If only smarter decisions had been made in that second half...
Fantastic! I like how you gave in Casino Royale as the first Bond film from 1962. ;) Well done!
That said we are totally in agreement about Connery's tenure. What I wouldn't give to have that timeline, and maybe no Saltzmann/Connery feud to ensure that he stayed committed to the role?
@Some_kind_of_hero -- I didn't know that about the script! They're welcome to write it, I just don't want the script we ended up with.
@ThighsOfXenia : As a Lazenby fan, I'm always disappointed to see him put aside, but your timeline is no less appealing. I really like a number of your choices, especially when it comes to the Dalton era: seeing him starring in FATAK, a much needed break for Glen and a new director. I'm a little more skeptical about adding The Hildebrand Rarity. Not that the story could not be expanded, this is what the early LTK drafts were heading towards and which seemed interesting, but rather that it would just risk being perhaps redundant with the following installment. I guess Krest's character in LTK would have to be renamed. Otherwise, I'm quite seduced by the prospect of a Goldfinger starring Moore, although I think it should take place a little earlier in the timeline, maybe as his first or second movie.
Couldn't decide which director at the moment.
At least mine from earlier was rushed and too silly... I decided to come up with my own universe known as the "Klodtverse" which is a rather amusing name. Okay, we stop using Cary Grant in this timeline.
Here's mine:
All first 16 films (except DAF) are the same with same directors and crew, Lazenby remains as Bond for only two pictures such as OHMSS and DAF, where the 1971 film has the same director from the last and same recurring people from the last film as well.
Then we get to Roger Moore with seven films, and Timothy Dalton... we change this alternatively...
SEAN CONNERY:
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
GEORGE LAZENBY:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
ROGER MOORE:
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Man With The Golden Gun (1975)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
A View to A Kill (1985)
TIMOTHY DALTON (early):
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
Then we get into the most interesting part, I decided to put release dates and directors here in this, no conflictive studio issues, nothing, Dalton stops being Bond, months before Brosnan was announced.
TIMOTHY DALTON (cont.):
The Hildebrand Rarity (August 29, 1991) (dir. John McTiernan)
The Property of A Lady (October 12, 1992) (dir. Mike Newell)
Risico (July 16, 1993) (dir. Mike Newell)
007 in New York (March 21, 1994, Tim's 48th birthday!) (dir. Mark L. Lester)
Following Dalton's departure in April 1994, we finally get to see Brosnan the next year in 18 months after Dalton's last.
PIERCE BROSNAN (earlier):
GoldenEye (November 8, 1995) (dir. Martin Campbell)
Tomorrow Never Dies (November 11, 1997) (dir. Roger Spottiswoode)
The World is Not Enough (November 24, 1999) (dir. Michael Apted)
It would be later announced that the following films after TWINE would be filmed concurrently, Brosnan had to take breaks during each film to go in and start filming other films that don't relate to 007, this would easily make the crew nervous and stressed.
PIERCE BROSNAN (cont.):
When The Bullet Flashes (November 20, 2000) (dir. Michael Apted) (concurrent)
Agent Under Fire (December 11, 2001) (dir. Simon West)
Die Another Day (November 27, 2002) (dir. Lee Tamahori)
Night Fire (October 16, 2003) (dir. Lee Tamahori)
Everything or Nothing (December 25, 2004) (dir. Lee Tamahori)
Following a series of concurrent films and different takes of directors, the EON family would hire Daniel Craig on January 2005, in the rebooted James Bond franchise, this would make people nervous but the producers' family says it might be only competitors with the original and reboot series, this would make the people nervous to know who is a better actor of Bond, Pierce was forced to play Bond as long as he can until the time is right.
PIERCE BROSNAN (cont. competition against Daniel Craig):
Phoenix Rising (September 3, 2005) (dir. Ridley Scott)
Field of Intelligence (October 2, 2006) (dir. Ridley Scott)
007 in Los Angeles [Blockbuster] (November 7, 2007) (dir. Richard Donner)
Chicago Espionage (December 14, 2009) (dir. Michael Apted)
Miami Vendetta (October 14, 2011) (dir. Martin Campbell)
The Year of the Dragon (quadrilogy, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter 2012) (dir. Edward Zwick)
This is where it gets interesting.
DANIEL CRAIG (competitor to Pierce Brosnan until 2012, cont. films succeeding this):
The Secret Agent (December 15, 2005) (dir. Matthew Vaughn)
Casino Royale (November 14, 2006) (dir. Martin Campbell)
Quantum of Solace (December 18, 2008) (dir. Marc Forester) (different and longer)
No Good About Goodbye (September 20, 2009) (dir. Marc Forester) (concurrent)
Blood Stone (November 8, 2010) (dir. Matthew Vaughn) (concurrent) (different storyline)
Skyfall (November 9, 2012) (dir. Sam Mendes) (longer and more better)
Spectre (November 6, 2015) (dir. Sam Mendes) (runtime is longer, foster brother scene dropped)
No Time To Die (October 8, 2021) (dir. Cary Joji Fukanaga) (same runtime, unconfirmed)
So that's all... pretty wacky way to use the competition at the end, had to do it in case if something goes wrong. Pierce if only he had a lot of money with him to do more, in reality when the producers dropped him away with a phone call "you did good". I thought the competition I did was a good idea instead, this was inspired by when Halloween, the horror franchise took it's departure from originality and wanted to reboot and do a soft reboot with the original actress back, as time has evolved.
meh, what do you guys think...?
Thank you!
What about the competition?
Love what you’ve done with Dalton’s tenure. Which version of POAL does he do? The Alfonse Ruggiero script with the Terminator henchwoman scene or the action comedy one with enough quips to make Sir Roger blush?
Dude oh my gosh I never seen the script, I was thinking... well, to sum it up, it should be set in the Far East, to what other rumors could say. Can't have a Terminator henchwoman, only thing I would add in is Jaws.
The 1st draft had Bond briefly battling one of Sir Henry Lee Ching’s creations while he tries to save Connie Webb.
Oh wow...
I'm actually of the mind now that they should essentially do this, LALD followed by an ACTUAL adaptation of Moonraker, for Bond #7. Modify LALD to be a little less, erm... racist?... and to work in a proper introduction for the new actor (perhaps in the form of an Octopussy-like PTS that isn't actually related to the film) and then follow it up with the Moonraker adaptation we all want but never got.
Connery (no changes made to these three)
DOCTOR NO (Young)1962
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (Young) 1963
GOLDFINGER (Hamilton) 1964
Lazenby (The Blofeld Trilogy, all done in the style of the current OHMSS)
THUNDERBALL (Hunt)1967
ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (Hunt) 1969
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (Hunt) 1971
Moore (TMWTGG is a closer adaptation of the novel, as is LALD, but with most of the film still in there as well, the. Eat of both, TSWLM is pretty much the same as it currently is)
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (Hunt) 1973
LIVE AND LET DIE (Hamilton) 1974
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (GILBERT) 1977
TBD (all hew closer to the source material, but FYEO remains mainly intact, OP keeps its current storyline, without the goofiness, incorporates the Fleming tale more accurately, which will be shown in flashback)
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (Glen) 1979
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (Glen) 1982
OCTOPUSSY (Glen) 1985
Dalton (POAL could have been his epic send-off)
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (Glen)1987
LICENCE TO KILL (Glen) 1989
PROPERTY OF A LADY (Campbell) 1992
Brosnan (TND gets a stronger third act, MR adheres closely to the source)
GOLDENEYE (Campbell) 1995
TOMORROW NEVER LIES (Campbell) 1997
MOONRAKER (Campbell) 2002
Craig (QOS loses all connections to Vesper, SF goes less into Bond’s past)
CASINO ROYALE (Campbell) 2006
QUANTUM OF SOLACE (Foster) 2008
SKYFALL (Mendez) 2012
TBD (SP utilizes an entirely different concept and script, CS is a straight adaptation, Bond doesn’t die)
SPECTRE (Foster) 2015
COLONEL SUN (Boyle) 2018
007 IN NEW YORK (TBD) 2021
Connery Era (1962-1967)
All of his films would still remained the same
Dr. No (1962, Terrence Young)
From Russia With Love (1963, Terrence Young)
Goldfinger (1964, Guy Hamilton)
Thunderball (1965, Terrence Young)
Moonraker (1967, Lewis Gilbert) since the film version of You Only Live Twice had the same space theme (the rockets, the astronaut 60's sci-fi, so why not have Moonraker instead? Make it close to the source material, Lewis Gilbert was still the director), this film would result in a box office success and Connery was glad about his final film.
Lazenby Era
(All were faithfully adapted to their source material)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969, Peter Hunt)
You Only Live Twice (1971, Peter Hunt)
Live And Let Die (1973, Peter Hunt)
Peter Hunt exits, his editor, John Glen was promoted to direct the next Bond Film.
The Man With The Golden Gun (1975, John Glen)
Moore Era
Still same as it is, though his introduction would be The Spy Who Loved Me, Moore would only have three films and quit the role in 1983 for the reason that he's too old for the role.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977, Lewis Gilbert)
For Your Eyes Only (1979, John Glen)
Octopussy (1983, John Glen)
Dalton Era
Never Say Never Again was released in 1985 against The Living Daylights by Dalton, but because of Sean Connery's return, NSNA made more money than TLD, it's a success, Kevin McClory was happy to have his big money, because of this he would not sue the producers and he would make an another film instead, so Dalton's fourth film in 1990's wasn't cancelled but it needs to go into a head to head battle against McClory's.
The Living Daylights (1985, John Glen)
A View To A Kill (1987, John Glen)
Licence To Kill (1989, John Glen)
Property of A Lady (1990, Martin Campbell)
Property of A Lady became a success against McClory's 'Warhead' starring Liam Neeson, with Connery as the villain (Largo). McClory sued the Producers and it took 2 years before they got the franchise back on the game, and because of that, Dalton had already quit.
Brosnan Era
It would still remained the same, except that his fourth film would came from Fleming's source material (he didn't had any Fleming material to worked with).
Goldeneye (1993, Martin Campbell)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997, Roger Spottiswoode)
The World Is Not Enough (1999, Michael Apted)
Diamonds Are Forever (2002, Quentin Tarantino)
Die Another Day (2004, Lee Tamahori)
Craig Era
DAD was a box office success, but the Producers wanted a reboot because the film was too much campy and over the top, compared to the last one, which was Diamonds Are Forever directed by Tarantino, where he made the film close to the source material. The Producers needs a new blood, new ground.
Casino Royale (2007, Martin Campbell, should be released in 07-07-2007)
Quantum Of Solace (2009, Marc Forster)
SkyFall (2012, Sam Mendes)
Purvis and Wade had retired from screenwriting after Skyfall, the then rejected screenwriter who proposed the unmade Bond Film 'Once Upon A Spy' Peter Morgan had been called back to replace P&W to write Bond 24.
SPECTRE (2015, Sam Mendes, Screenplay by Peter Morgan)
Christoph Waltz as Blofeld, Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx and Monica Bellucci as Maria Fraudenstein.
Shatterhand (2021, Danny Boyle, Screenplay by John Hodge)
A sequel to SPECTRE, Christoph Waltz returning as Blofeld (now Shatterhand), and Monica Bellucci retuning as Maria Fraudenstein (Bond's main love interest, who will be revealed as a villainess) a new cast was added and that was Ana De Armas as Paloma (a new Bond Girl; main "good" love interest
@Herr_Stockmann , Thanks. I've often thought that 007 IN NEW YORK should be just what it sounds like; Bond has to navigate the city, the worse ghetto to the highest penthouse, and all the various terrains and landmarks and ethnic sections and so on.
Classic Era
Sean Connery
CASINO ROYALE (1961) Carol Reed - Straight adaptation, including the brutality. Filmed in Black & White.
DOCTOR NO (1962) Young stet
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963) Young stet
GOLDFINGER (1964) Hamilton stet
THUNDERBALL (1965) Young stet
George Lazenby
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1967) Hunt stet
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1969) Hunt - Straight adaptation.
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1971) Hunt - Close adaptation, with some of the more exciting cinematic elements retained.
Roger Moore
LIVE AND LET DIE (1973) Hamilton- Close adaptation, with some of the more exciting cinematic elements retained.
MOONRAKER (1975) John Schlesinger - As near a straight adaptation as possible.
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) Gilbert stet
OCTOPUSSY (1979) Glen - Keeps its current storyline, without the goofiness, incorporates the Fleming tale more accurately, which will be shown in flashback.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981) Glen -Mostly as is, without some of the sillier components.
Sean Connery
FROM A VIEW TO A KILL (1983) Kirshner - Expand on Fleming's short story. Use young Pierce Brosnan in flashbacks to Bond's wartime years.
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1985) Kirshner - Fairly close adaptation. I'm using Kirshner over Glen strictly due to the necessary realism required for the fistfights.
Timothy Dalton
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987) Glen - Remove the last vestiges of the Moore campiness and Kara from the third act action.
LICENCE TO KILL (1989) Glen - Remove the bar fight and take Q out of the field.
PROPERTY OF A LADY (1992) Campbell- Dalton's planned epic third installment.
My current take:
Sean Connery:
Dr. No (1962).
From Russia With Love (1963).
Goldfinger (1964).
Thunderball (1965).
I wouldn't change these first four. They're too iconic and establish the series.
George Lazenby:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1968). Keep everything the same, but take out "This never happened to the other fellow."
You Only Live Twice (1970). This is a faithful adaptation, down to the ending. Keep Savalas and end the SPECTRE storyline, forever.
OHMSS *must* happen in the late '60s to fit in with the summer of love and the downbeat endings of cinema that were in vogue at the time.
Roger Moore:
The Man with the Golden Gun (1973). Start with the assassination attempt and play against type to Moore's harder edge from the jump. Ignore that the new Bond looks different. Just carry on.
Live and Let Die (1975). Start with Bond and Goodnight in Jamaica before he is called back into service. Establish that Bond is more relaxed and lighter from his time in the tropics. Cast Diana Ross (at the peak of her career) as Solitaire (and give her the title song) and Jane Seymour as Rosie. Use Jamaica instead of San Monique.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Keep largely as is. Recast Anya with an actual Russian actress.
Moonraker (1979). Faithful to the novel. No Holly Goodhead. Turn Gala Brand American to bring in space shuttle program and NASA and keep the story international (Venice and Brazil are great locations). For god's sake, do not send Bond into space.
Octopussy (1981). Cut out the jokiness throughout and refine the humor but send Moore out on a strong entry.
I realize I'm giving Moore more films than Connery which seems wrong, but Moore's heart was in it longer.
Timothy Dalton:
For Your Eyes Only (1983). As is, a good introduction to the new Bond.
From A View to a Kill (1985). Completely overhaul and include Bond's backstory in Paris. Ditch the Superman ripoff. Focus on the microchips and Walken's past with the KGB. Dalton and his theatrical flair would spark well off the also-younger Walken and Jones.
Diamonds Are Forever (1987). Give us a darker version as Dalton tracks the diamonds. One strong villain a la Sanchez instead of the two weak Spangs. This replaces Licence to Kill.
The Living Daylights (1989). This goes here so that the world-weary Bond at the beginning makes sense. Like Moore, let Dalton go out on a good love interest.
I'm not keen on Pierce Brosnan and his virtually Fleming-free entries so I'd have to rethink the '90s a lot. Goldeneye and Die Another Day are not needed if Moonraker is faithful in 1979, and if Moonraker is properly adapted, the screenwriters can move on from it already.
Maybe just give the franchise a much-needed rest until:
Daniel Craig:
Casino Royale (2006). As is, including the rookie angle. The franchise comes roaring back.
Quantum of Solace (2009). Take more time to develop the script, slow down the editing. Move Mathis to Bermuda, and work in the short story there before they fly to Bolivia. Establish Bolivia as a dry run for Quantum's world domination.
The Hildebrand Rarity (2012). As Licence To Kill was never made in this timeline, it's time to use this story. As was Skyfall's original intention, Krest is a one-off villain to give us a break from the Quantum conspiracy.
Risico (2015). Establish Quantum further as the villainous organization. We've now run out of Fleming, unfortunately. Bond thinks he has found the head of Quantum, White, but just as Bond kills him, White reveals he is merely the number two of Quantum. There is no "Brofeld," Madeleine, or Mathilde.
The World Is Not Enough (2018). Craig's final entry, this is what was once Skyfall. Silva is revealed as the head of Quantum with a vendetta against Bond, not M, for thwarting all of his previous plans. An aging Craig defeats Silva and destroys Quantum, then retires once and for all at the end to Jamaica.
But then...
007 in New York (2023). Bond has vanished from Jamaica, and mysterious villainous signals from a 007 appear from New York. Has Bond been turned? Stay tuned.
Pierce Brosnan
GOLDENEYE (1995) Campbell stet
TOMORROW NEVER LIES (1997) Spottiswoode - With a much stronger third act, with much greater development of Carver's character and strengths.
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999) Apted - Eliminate the character of Christmas Jones, so that Elektra becomes the Main Bond Girl as well as the Main Bond Villain. It will have a much stronger third act, with much greater development of Renard's character and exploitation of his abilities. Introduce SPECTRE.
JAMES BOND, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (2001) Foster - For once Pierce gets to work directly from Fleming. A scaled down Bond film, loosely based on the original novel. Bond's part of the story is built upon, as he follows the trail of SPECTRE. Vivian's tale must be shortened substantially.
JAMES BOND, MOONRAKER (2004) Campbell - Since we already have the Fleming version adapted for my take on teh Classic Era, this would be based on Chris Wood's original screenplay treatment for the actual 1977 release. His novel tells essentially the same tale as the film, but in a much darker and harsher vein, without the goofiness. So, Bond still goes into space. That is the approach taken here. Drax replaced with Blofeld, who is controlling SPECTRE.
Daniel Craig
JAMES BOND, CASINO ROYALE (2006) Campbell stet
QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008) Foster - Far less emphasis on Bond still being a wreck over Vesper, he's done with that. Otherwise it stays the same, with the original ending, in which Bond executes Mr. White, ending the reign of Quantum.
SKYFALL (2012) Mendez - Essentially the same film, with less "Bruce Wayne" in the third act.
SPECTRE (2015) Campbell - A completely new story and script. No need to explain SPECTRE's reemergence in this new timeline, they're just there. If it's a great Bond film only the most pedantic of hardcore fans will care. This should be what NTTD could have been without all of the Vesper and Madeline baggage. Bond sleeps with multiple women, some die. No more than cursory ties to past films. A true epic, Bond lives, no family. Retirement can be implied.
Pierce Brosnan
COLONEL SUN (2018) Foster - A straight, lean adaptation. Foster would be perfect for this novel.
THE HILDEBRAND RARITY (2021) Boyle - See what he does with the short story. Bond does not die.
007 IN NEW YORK (2024) TBD - Exactly what it says.