SPOTLIGHT THE OTHER 00 AGENTS

Despite some brief appearances throughout the franchise (Sean Bean's 006 in Goldeneye being the most notable example), the focus has always been on 007. There was an iteration of this piece where I contemplated letting the demise of Daniel Craig’s James Bond in No Time to Die be the end of Bond as a person and having someone new (perhaps a woman) take over the mantle of 007. However, I’ve reversed course on this as there are plenty of other avenues to build upon without letting Mr. Bond go. Does the character need a bit of a modern update? Sure, but that’s something I’m sure will be addressed.

I think you have the potential to greatly enrich this franchise if you place a focus on and give some weight to the other 00 agents inside MI6. Whether it’s the old guard of Broccoli or the new one at Amazon MGM, there are clearly certain attributes of Bond they aren’t ready to move away from. Regardless of your opinion on that, focusing on other 00s would allow for greater representation of actors from different genders or ethnicities, creating unique characters and backstories tailored to them. If the long-desired Idris Elba casting as 007 isn’t going to happen, why not make him 008? Or bring in Thandiwe Newton (my long-time personal pick as 007 successor) as 003? If you go this route, you’re no longer beholden to any prerequisites. You can build a character from scratch while taking everything from their race to sexual orientation into account. This would create authentic and entirely new characters that could potentially help carry the franchise for years to come.

SHOW WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME A 00 AGENT

Bouncing off my previous point, wouldn’t it be cool to see the process these agents have to go through to get into MI6? Witnessing the training of some of the brightest hopefuls England has to offer, watching their rise or downfall, the politics, the allegiances, the successes, the failures… I mean, although tonally different, this aspect is a big part of why Kingsman: The Secret Service (a film heavily influenced by Bond) worked as well as it did.

Just because series like Treadstone and The Continental (origin stories for the Jason Bourne and John Wick franchises, respectively) didn't really work, doesn't mean the idea is a bad one. With the extended runway a series offers, you would be able to follow these young agents as they make their way through the 00 program and take a deep dive into all that entails. This would not only create better world building, but it would also provide higher stakes and major characters who can either become part of the future or act as expendable assets while still carrying some weight to advance the stories of other characters.

BRANCH OUT FROM A SINGULAR TIMELINE

I understand we live in a world of expanded universes, but one of the best things this franchise can do is step outside of its standard timeline. Think about it…as it stands, playing James Bond is a lot like taking on the role of a superhero for Marvel or DC Studios. The role may be great, but you're locked in for multiple films, which can take away certain opportunities due to contract and scheduling issues. It doesn’t have to be that way. If we introduce the idea of James Bond one-offs, we have a chance to play with Bonds of different ages, different timelines, and with different actors. Would you like to see Christian Bale, Hugh Grant, Benedict Cumberbatch, or countless other A-list actors play Bond? That becomes much more plausible in this format. You could take James Bond back to the 70s or connect him to real world events. You can take real risks to do something different. I’m not saying they’d go as far as making a deep drama where they explain his misogynistic ways by having him be a closeted homosexual in the 1960s (could you imagine?), but the possibilities really are endless.

James Bond being an indestructible pseudo-superhero worked when I was growing up, but in a cinematic landscape populated by superheroes, I don’t need that anymore. You already have 25 films of a character you know won’t die. It’s time for stakes, and giving Bond singular stories can do that. You can put Bond in true peril, maybe even have the villains win sometimes. It’s not that he needs to die, it’s that you know he can. This fresh start is the perfect time for an evolution of this character and the way his stories are told. We’ve had Bonds that lean more into the cheese and comedy, and we’ve had Bonds that are pure badass. It’s time to see what the next version of Bond is, and the beauty is, we don’t have to pick just one.

BRING BACK PIERCE BROSNAN

Yes, I know I just said it was time for a fresh start, and I meant it. But there’s still a way to make this work. Pierce Brosnan is the Bond I grew up with, and when Daniel Craig’s version of the character was fully realized, it made me wish we’d gotten to see Brosnan have a shot at the edgier version of the character. I’ve also always been intrigued by the idea of an Old Man Bond storyline where he comes back for one last mission. Or perhaps to mentor the next 007 in line. This worked tremendously well with Hugh Jackman in Logan — a film I consider the greatest superhero film of all time — and there’s no doubt things could go the same with Pierce. A gritty and grizzled Brosnan (similar to what he showed in the underrated The November Man) could pair nostalgia with the introduction of something new. It could be a ton of fun even if it took Brosnan following in Harrison Ford’s footsteps as Han Solo in A Force Awakens, laying his version of the character to rest to secure a return.