What has Happened to James Bond?

Both shaken and stirred.

Just this August 24, 2018, Bond fans woke up to the news of Bond 25 Director Danny Boyle quitting on the film due to creative differences with the producers. His exit on the film was announced in the official Twitter account of the James Bond movie franchise.

And here is the actual tweet of that announcement:

The official announcement from Twitter

From the looks of it, Daniel Craig is not only the 007 actor, it seemed that he was part of the production personnel as he was in the last film Spectre.

Before the news of his exit, three casting calls were made for what I have thought to be for the main villain, the Bond girl, and the henchmen. Should we say goodbye to that casting calls? Should we say goodbye to that December-set start of the shoot?

Or worse, should we say goodbye to James Bond?

During the Sean Connery era, the Bond films were released year after year. Dr. No in 1962, From Russia With Love in 1963, Goldfinger in 1964, and Thunderball in 1965. It was only in 1965 when they started having a year between Bond films. This was when Connery started being bored" of his character.

Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964)

George Lazenby came for 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Connery was lured back for 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. Roger Moore had a regular one-year gap from 1973 to 1985 except when The Man with a Golden Gun released in 1974 to catch up with the martial arts craze in the '70s. 

George Lazenby in On Her majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Timothy Dalton, with his two films, followed the trend of Moore's Bond films having his films released in 1987, and 1989. After this, there was a six-year hiatus due to legal issues which made Dalton leave the franchise.

Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights (1987)

Pierce Brosnan brought Bond back to the cinemas with 1995's Goldeneye. This was followed up with three more, released in 1997, 1999, and 2002. I strongly believe that Die Another Day was only pushed for a 2002 release just to coincide with the 40th anniversary since Bond was shown in the cinemas.

Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day (2002)

Brosnan was fired from the role and the search was won by Daniel Craig in 2005. With him in the role of 007, the producers thought of rebooting the franchise and starting with Bond's debut in the novel, Casino Royale in 2006. This was followed up by 2008's Quantum of Solace. After another string of delays due to the bankruptcy of studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Craig's third Bond film Skyfall had to be pushed for a 2012 release, which also was the 50th anniversary of the franchise.

Daniel Craig in Spectre (2015)

Three years after Spectre was released. This film made critics and fans alike to give some hate to the writers who made all Craig's Bond films tied up complete with recurring characters (Mr. White in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre, and Rene Mathis and Felix Leiter in Quantum of Solace, and Spectre). Not to mention, the return of Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Additionally, they gave the MI6 quartet (which was just a trio before) of M, Q, Moneypenny, and Bill Taner larger screen time than they have had in the previous eras. Honestly speaking, Spectre was more like a Mission: Impossible movie with a whole team working for one aim. 

Bond worked better alone, or with just one ally with him, in the previous Bond films. That is the formula and not with the whole MI6 team.

Bond 25 was set for a November 2019 release, having a four-year gap after Spectre. But with the recent news, would it still be realistic to have a Bond film with just over a year of production?

As it was said earlier, earlier Bond films were released year after year and the longest gap was still the six years between Licence to Kill and Goldenye. 

Other issues that the franchise is having right now is the acquisition of an actor from another color to be Bond, with some people clamoring for Idris Elba to be the first black James Bond. Another one is to have a female James Bond. Might as well have a gay James Bond or any other sexual preference. 

Here's what I have to say about all of this. Bond is a fictional character based on the works of its original author Ian Fleming. Fleming had his description of who and what Bond is and for the sake of a realistic adaptation of the character, I would go for not going far from the descriptions that he had laid. 

James Bond is not Asian, and definitely not a woman. But whether or not James Bond - 007 is a code name is a question for another time.

*Photos are grabbed from the Internet and all thanks are for those who own it. For sharing purposes only. Thank you.