Brainstorming the Future of James Bond
James Bond has done it again. Spectre seduced another $35 million dollars over the weekend in North America despite poor reviews. I loved what the Bond braintrust have done with the Daniel Craig movies, but Spectre fell short of my expectations by leaving interesting storytelling on the table in favour of meaningless action sequences. Spectre went back to the formula that endeared Bond to its fans but also made it stale and out of date. Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes are a band who has grown tired of playing their greatest hits in sold-out arenas.
Whether or not there’s going to be another Bond movie isn’t the question. Sure, “Who should be the next Bond?” is intriguing dinner party conversation. “What kind of suit should a spy wear to a showdown in the middle of the desert?” would be a great icebreaker for a first date. To me, the most interesting discussion is, “What should they do next with the James Bond character?”
I’m here to offer some half-baked ideas for the next 007 movie. There will be holes, but remember, we’re brainstorming. There are no bad ideas. Although maybe James Bond running Skyfall as a bed and breakfast is a bad idea. I spent far too long designing the signature scone 007 would serve. (Answer: Mixed berry. A tip of the hat to the colours of the Union Jack.) It was too much of a 180 for the franchise.
James Bond has been here before. Casino Royale rebooted the franchise by creating a grittier, darker Bond — more Jason Bourne, less Roger Moore wheezing his way up the Eiffel Tower. The same elements were there for the origin story: Bond girls, cool cars and gadgets. Daniel Craig’s first go in the impeccably fitting tux brought the audience to the beginning of the Bond mythology. For the next Bond, why not go to the end?
The last two Bond films, Spectre and Skyfall, used Bond’s declining relevance in the intelligence industry as plot points — only to see him shoot, run, and reassert himself as a necessary weapon. For the next Bond, I propose making him older and at the end of his career as a field agent. He’s more psychologically detached and emotionally broken than ever. Think of Michael Corleone in the end of Godfather Part II: alone and haunted by the ghosts of his past. This Bond film borrows the theme from the third Godfather and makes James obsessed with redeeming himself and finding meaning and peace in the twilight of his life.
Bond becomes a security consultant after he retires from MI6. He’s bored so he follows known London criminals after hours to get his much needed dose of adrenaline. During one of his evening walks, he stumbles upon a terrorist cell operating in London and he has to singlehandedly stop them. This iteration of Bond is part Charles Bronson, part Michael Corleone, part Bruce Wayne from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns with a little Jack Bauer sprinkled on top.
Maybe the twilight of James Bond’s life is too depressing. Let’s put 007 back in the middle of the action — only let’s put him in a different time period.
There’s no doubt that the pinnacle of spying occurs during the Cold War, but spying isn’t limited to that time period. Why can’t we see James Bond as a British agent during World War II? He can parachute into France to disrupt German troops before the landing in Normandy. 007 can help organize the French resistance and he can fall in love with Marion Cotillard. Give him some gadgets — maybe a pen with an acid that can eat through a German tank. The movie is Band of Brothers, Inglourious Basterds, and the Medal of Honour video games.
That idea moves the needle for you, but you need a little more international intrigue in your 007 film? Let’s go farther back in time: James Bond in the 19th century during the glory days of the British Empire.
We’d have to do some fudging of history, but there’s some great action set in this period. I don’t know about you, but I want to see Bond operating in the shadows during the Opium Wars in China or undercover in Imperial Russia as they build a rivalry with the British Empire. The empire’s reach is so grand during this period that Bond could go anywhere in the world.
Filmmakers can put him in an international game of cat and mouse as he tries to stop a terrorist group running amok in the colonies. He goes from the Singapore, to Kenya, to India and then to South Africa as he battles the group made up of former British officers who have seen the atrocities of colonization committed on behalf of the crown. Modernity and morality will be themes once again as the conflict tests Bond’s loyalty to the empire.
James Bond has battled henchmen in space, underwater and inside a volcano. Why not send him back in time? The franchise’s worst movie in 30 years has already made half a billion dollars — I think they can afford to take some chances.
Then again, I can’t blame them for bringing the band back together to play their greatest hits in sold out arenas.
