James Bond Writers' Dilemma: If Bond is Dead, How Do You Bring Him Back?

When I first got into watching James Bond movies, I loved poring over the 20+ movies in the franchise and seeing how each different actor portrayed him. It was really cool to see the click versions, the goofy versions, and everyone in between.

One of the things that stood out to me is how each new Bond sort of marked an era and a tone the series would take for their stay.

Most recently, the Daniel Craig portrayal was intense, gritty, and often sentimental. At the end of his movie series, they did something very different...they killed Bond off.

It was an interesting maneuver, but felt like an appropriate send-off for the Craig version.

Still, the world was used to Bond movies continuing. And Amazon MGM was about to greenlight a whole new series as they search for their new Bond.

A few people on the internet started asking how you actually start again if Bond is dead? And it turns out, some of the writers for the franchise have felt the same way.

Let's dive in.

James Bond Is Dead

For six decades, 007 has been an eternal figure, a cinematic constant who simply regenerates with a new face every few years.

But now, the writers tasked with resurrecting the super-spy are unsure how to start.

According to Radar Online, a source close to the production said, "Writers are tearing their hair out. Bond didn't just vanish off a cliff or fake his death – he was blown to pieces on screen. Everyone agrees it was a massive mistake because Bond is supposed to be eternal. They are now stuck trying to find a believable way to resurrect him, and it is proving almost impossible."

Novelist Anthony Horowitz, who was commissioned by the Ian Fleming estate to write three official 007 books, agreed with the anonymous source.

He said, "The last time we saw Bond, he was poisoned and blown to smithereens – how will they get past the fact he is dead with a capital D? I think that was a mistake, because Bond is a legend. He belongs to everybody, he is eternal – except in that film. If I was asked tomorrow to write the script, I wouldn't be able to do it. Where would you start? You can't have him waking up in the shower and saying it was all a dream."

For what it's worth, I think that the lean into these big-world franchises that build universes, like Marvel, has screwed up younger audiences' perception of characters like Bond.

They expect continuity, where the place Bond thrives is just in singular movies that rock.

Long Live James Bond

Look, I feel like everyone talking to the press is completely overcomplicating the issue. James Bond movies have new faces in them. They have for like 60 years.

Just go make another movie with a new actor and never mention this one.

The series has even carried over role players before.

We didn't care that we had Judie Dench in both the Pierce Brosnan movies as well as the Daniel Craig ones; we never once asked where Pierce went.

Bond is part of the cultural lexicon; people understand these movies have new faces in them.

And the people who don't need to understand this is not Marvel, this is not universe building. The best part about Bond is that you get a bunch of adventures with one aspect and then get to start again, fresh.

I understand that this last Bond died, and we've never had that before, but making a new movie with new actors is the best part of this franchise. It means nothing is sacred, and you can always spin a new yarn.

Lean into that massive strength!

The new movie is coming from heavyweights like Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and Dune director Denis Villeneuve.

Surely they have to understand the world is ready for their Bond iteration, andn ot going to be bogged down in the semantics of an old one.

Summing It All Up

James Bond is one of my favorite characters and franchises. There are so many fun movies to pick from and so many different adventures he's gone on. As the movies modernize and find new audiences, we need to make more of an effort to get people to buy into this stuff.

We don't need to retcon rules for Bond or what happened to older ones; we just need to maybe have some outreach and also keep making things the way they were intended, and if they're good, my people will get on board.

Let me know what you think in the comments.