17 replies to this topic

[DamnCoffee]

We all know that Daniel Craig has officially signed on for 2 more Bond films, so these next few Bond films will be the last of the Daniel Craig era. As cinema is constantly evolving, it's gotten to the stage now that you can't really have a fantastic action film without some kind of emotional hook. (Skyfall, Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy, etc..) Although I think a lovely, traditional, straight forward Bond film would be welcoming, we have to face the fact that most audiences love to see a hero fall (And bring themselves up again) It's far more entertaining these days to see inner conflicts of the main character, putting themselves through an emotional challenge, etc.

I think since Casino Royale completely reinvented the Bond, and kept him more in tone with Flemings original character, we need to see Bond's story from the novels faithfully translated. Which is why I think that we will eventually get some form of spirit remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, reintroducing Tracey, Blunt and Blofeld, and a faithful You Only Live Twice adaptation for Craig's last. Complete with Memory loss, so after Craig's last, the next actor can open with Bond returning to the service after recovering from Amnesia. How would you guys like to wrap up Craigs' era? I'm hoping that Craig will sign for a final film after Bond 25, but that's just wishful thinking.

I do hope Craig's Bond gets some kind of happy ending, but I think loss and deception will be the main hooks of this era of Bond.

Edited by DamnCoffee, 08 March 2013 - 08:11 PM.

[Dustin]

I'm not sure it's necessary to go the whole distance Blofeld-Tracy-wedding-death-revenge-amnesia. I would like to have Craig up against a character of his age and ability, only a self-made millionaire on the private intelligence/mercenary sector, perhaps over more than one film. At any rate in the final film Bond would meet the wife of this man and fall in love with her, and she with him. Once the villain's scheme is disclosed and his plans thwarted she chooses to follow her husband instead of staying with Bond.   

[tdalton]

How would you guys like to wrap up Craigs' era?

 

Ideally, I'd like to see them get Craig to do four more and match Moore's record so that we could get to properly adapting some of the Fleming stories that still have yet to be properly adapted.  The way I'd like to see them close it out would be to have the next film be Craig's Thunderball, although not the same storyline.  Just some kind of plot where there's a grave, global danger propagated by a villainous organization.  Maybe the organization could be something that comes out of the ruins of Quantum, with perhaps a leader who was a part of Quantum and used whatever infrastructure was left of the organization to build up a new organization after Bond and MI6 took Quantum down between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.  The leader would employ a wide range of people with various talents, a SPECTRE-like organization most likely, and Bond 24 would feature a female villain who has the physical ability to dispatch Bond in hand-to-hand combat.
 
After that, I'd like to see them move on to a spiritual remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  I'd ditch the original plot altogether (although perhaps keeping a good portion of it in a snowy location) and build a new plot around the romance between Bond and Tracy, and have the leader of the new villainous organization feature as the primary villain, with Bond meeting this villain for the first time.  After that, I'd like to see an adaptation of You Only Live Twice for Bond 26.  The first half might need to be beefed up a bit in order for it to work as a film, but it would have to feature the Garden of Death, the castle, "Shatterhand", and all of those Fleming elements.  Moving on from there, I'd like to see them follow that up with a story that's loosely based on Fleming's The Man with the Golden Gun, with it beginning with Bond's attempted assassination of M and then have it go on from there with Bond having to face off against the world's greatest assassin.

 

Ideally, that's how I'd go about rounding out the Craig Era.  Obviously Craig's only going to do two more films, so I'd try to combine some of those elements into one film and then send Craig off with an adaptation of You Only Live Twice.

[coco1997]

Ideally, that's how I'd go about rounding out the Craig Era.  Obviously Craig's only going to do two more films, so I'd try to combine some of those elements into one film and then send Craig off with an adaptation of You Only Live Twice.

I believe Craig's contract is for two more films with an option for a third. Depending on the quality and success of Bond 25, I'd like to think EON will pick up that option and Craig will have a continued interest in reprising his role. 

[tdalton]

Ideally, that's how I'd go about rounding out the Craig Era.  Obviously Craig's only going to do two more films, so I'd try to combine some of those elements into one film and then send Craig off with an adaptation of You Only Live Twice.

I believe Craig's contract is for two more films with an option for a third. Depending on the quality and success of Bond 25, I'd like to think EON will pick up that option and Craig will have a continued interest in reprising his role. 

 

If that's the case, then I think they could get around to including elements of Fleming's Blofeld trilogy as well as The Man With the Golden Gun into three films.  I don't see EON wanting Craig to depart the role at any point in the foreseeable future, but whether or not Craig wants to continue on the role past Bond 25 could be the issue. 

[Cody]

There are unused Fleming elements that I'd like to see, but overall I want new stories with new characters. OHMSS was already perfect, I definitely don't want to see Tracy redone.

 

The unused Fleming I most want to see done during the Craig era is the Moonraker bridge game.

[Professor Pi]

I'm all for bringing the second half of the YOLT novel to the screen, Shatterhand, the Castle, Garden of Death, and even Bond unknowingly fathering a child.  I'd also like them to incorporate unused parts of MR and DAF novels, the card game at Blades, Spang brothers, etc. 

 

However, I think OHMSS was done right the first time.  I wrote in another thread that they introduced Craig as if no other Bond movie had been made, and they could send him off as if no more movies would be made about his specific Bond character.  I do hope it's six total films and that two of them are a two part story arc filmed back to back.

Edited by Professor Pi, 09 March 2013 - 12:03 AM.

[TheSilhouette]

I've always felt as though in a way, Casino Royale WAS Craig's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and having him fall deeply in love again may be a little bit much. I also like the idea of a more faithful adaption of You Only Live Twice, but I almost feel as though it wouldn't be worth all the "They ripped off Bourne" rants by the public.

[Walecs]

He could get married, even if it won't be with Teresa in a OHMSS remake...

[tdalton]

He could get married, even if it won't be with Teresa in a OHMSS remake...

 

Exactly. 

 

They could, of course, still have it be with Tracy and build an entirely different story around it so that it wouldn't be a remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  The main thing, for me, is that if we are ever going to get the core of You Only Live Twice onto the big screen in any kind of a faithful adaptation, it has to be preceded with a film that at least features Bond's marriage and loss of his wife before moving onto to You Only Live Twice.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

In my opinion the latter half of YOLT novel could be adapted without the OHMSS plotline. It wouldn't necessarily pack the same emotional punch as it did in the novel but still it would be a cracking way to cap Craigs era. The damage was done in 1971 and there's no point in trying to fix it now with a OHMSS remake.

[Guy Haines]

I've always felt as though in a way, Casino Royale WAS Craig's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and having him fall deeply in love again may be a little bit much. I also like the idea of a more faithful adaption of You Only Live Twice, but I almost feel as though it wouldn't be worth all the "They ripped off Bourne" rants by the public.

I agree with you about CR. It was in a way the reboot era's answer to OHMSS, but unlike that movie it did not end on a downbeat note - great film that it is, the ending of OHMSS can hardly be described as happy. Rather, it left audiences intrigued as to what would happen in the next film. As to the wrapping up of the Craig era, I hope it is some way off, but I'd like to see a final showdown with the "Quantum" organisation, with Bond confronting the "number one" figure behind it.

[SecretAgentFan]

Since Craig-Bond startet the Quantum-arc with his first film it would be disappointing to not see Quantum again. It should be part of his final film, at least.

[tdalton]

I think that they would be better off leaving Quantum alone and coming up with a new villainous organization for Craig's Bond to take on in his last two films.  Too much time has passed for Quantum to still be a realistic threat, as surely there would have been no way that they could have remained in the shadows once Bond identified someone as high up the ladder as Guy Haines.  In the 8 years between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, Bond and MI6 would surely have delivered several crushing blows to the organization, if not totally eradicated it.

[Joey Bond]

I've been thinking about this for a while too, and given how there seems to be a kind of continuity in Craig's films (especially the first two), it would be nice to have Bond retire or go missing at the end of Craig's last film (the amnesia aspect from You Only Live Twice, the novel, would be neat). Craig's last film could deal with Bond's age and whether he can physically/mentally keep up with being a 00-Agent. Then the next film with a new actor could be another reboot or go back to the pre-Craig style of standalone movies. 

[Bond... Raybond]

He could get married, even if it won't be with Teresa in a OHMSS remake...

 

Exactly. 

 

They could, of course, still have it be with Tracy and build an entirely different story around it so that it wouldn't be a remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  The main thing, for me, is that if we are ever going to get the core of You Only Live Twice onto the big screen in any kind of a faithful adaptation, it has to be preceded with a film that at least features Bond's marriage and loss of his wife before moving onto to You Only Live Twice.

 

Or you could have Blofeld return, and have Bond discover he had some role in Vesper's death, during the course of an assignment - that would give them a personal connection and then into the Garden of Death portion of YOLT. You would need the set up (ie discovering the connection) in Bond 24 and then THE meeting between Bond and Blofeld could happen in Bond 25 with the faithful adaption of YOLT.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

I wouldn't mind if the Craig era ends like Sean Connerys first stint ended - lying on a raft with the Bond girl.

[SecretAgentFan]

The dynamic of every Bond actor (doing more than four films) seems to be that the fourth film will lead to some kind of excess. And the fifth film being scaled down.

 

With the end of SKYFALL, establishing the more traditional male M, Moneypenny and Q, and Bond being in the "old" office again, saying that he wants to take new assignments "with pleasure", I get the feeling that BOND 24 will have a lighter, more escapist tone. Having someone else helm it, not the towards-drama-leaning Mendes, might be exactly what that kind of film needs.

 

BOND 25 could indeed shy away from that again, and end the Craig tenure on a more serious note, fitting with the basic tone of his portrayal.

 

Of course, it could all turn out completely different, avoiding the excesses of previous times, concentrating on the somber atmosphere of all Craig-Bonds.

 

Personally, I doubt that this should be the way to go.

 

Remember the 70´s? Sir Roger was the most popular Bond with TSWLM and MR. Audiences adored the light comic touch of his Bond films, the fantasy aspect of them. But that changed in the 80´s very fast.

 

I believe we´re about to see that kind of change in the next years again for the Craig-Bonds. People are craving fro more light-hearted fare. The flawed, depressed hero is becoming yesterday´s news.

 

Anyway, Craig has to up the ante. If he only repeats the desperate, angry Bond of CR, QOS and SF he will disappoint. But can he really pull off the more comical side of things?