I would go even further and claim that Bond cannot be a trendsetter ever again.
The character has become an institution. Everybody knows what Bond movies can offer and expects certain things of it. Sure, one can withhold Q and Moneypenny for a while, but any kind of re-booting would have to include the basic characteristics. So where does that leave room for something really original?
I agree, in so much as I don't think that the Bond films can ever really set a trend again. The trend that they set back in the day was primarily for their depiction of sex and violence on the big screen. That kind of stuff is no longer taboo, and now there are films that push the envelope much more in that department than Bond.
I do think that they could do something original with the films, though. That won't, however, happen until someone else makes their own James Bond film. So far, we've only seen how the Broccoli family would make a Bond film. We know what to expect from their type of Bond film, and there's not going to be much that would change from their offerings, aside from some stylistic differences here and there. The formula is set, and neither of the two currently running EON are inclined to change that. Putting Bond in someone else's hands, however, someone who isn't bound by the formula, could yield some surprising results. I'm very much hoping that that day comes at some point in my lifetime, because I'd very much like to see a totally radical take on the Bond character, something that I was hoping to get with Casino Royale.
I was about to write something. you just wrote it in better words I would ever use. In that sense, the CR project by Tarantino could have been very interesting.
Yes, Bond is an institution but saying that it will never never change scares me. This is the longest Franchise in history, should the producers have the b..., there is no risk for proposing something really new/suprising (if not a trendsetter). Maybe,it will not work but there is always a Bond to come after and we we know that we will pay our ticket for it