If you could re-make any of the Bond movies... (Future of bond)

CASINOROYALECASINOROYALE Somewhere hot
in Bond 26 & Beyond Posts: 1,003
The other day it hit me that Daniel Craig has been Bond for 10 years.. I realized at some point we need a new Bond actor and we have three options right now.. (1) Do a pre-quel? Cast a 20 something younger Bond, showcasing him in the navy, his training to be a spy, or maybe even copy the young bond novels? (2) Cast a 30 something year old actor to do what Brosnan did, new film, new plot, no continuation.. Or (3) Re-make some of the old films??

This leads to my overall question. If you could re-make any of the Bond films, what film(s), would you re-make?? How would you do it? Good idea or bad idea??

I would personally re-make Thunderball but change the story completely. "TB", is my favorite Bond film by far and I think it would be crazy with today's technology. They could have most of the same script but change specific scenes like for example, that one scene where Bond shoots a shark and then discovers the submarine.

Change that to a scene involving Bond being trapped by a few sharks in the submarine, and maybe have a shortened version of the underwater fight here with a changed ending. Add a bunch of new scenes, new fight sequences, kind of like Craig's action scenes, put scenes like that in and it changes the whole movie but keeps the general idea. Keep the re-breather gadget, shark tank/pool idea, stolen nukes, DB5, hospital scene and opening with Bond on the jet pack... Have Christopher Nolan direct..

Okay I know everyone thinks I am completely insane but I don't know how else to keep the Bond series fresh.
I think they need to do something that they have not done before.
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Comments

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I'd love to see both YOLT and Moonraker, re made with much less of the fantasy
    elements. ;) Both have great stories, which I'm sure could be modernised just
    enough to make them contemporary for a modern audience
  • Posts: 12,506
    You can possibly find fault with all the films? But to be honest, I would keep them as they are faults and all. Call me an old softie!
  • CASINOROYALECASINOROYALE Somewhere hot
    Posts: 1,003
    Nothing wrong with the oldies!
    Just technically the series was rebooted with Craig. New stories and plot lines. So I don't think it would be wrong to take the stories and re-use them..
  • DrunkIrishPoetDrunkIrishPoet The Amber Coast
    Posts: 156
    Great question! I believe I have mentioned elsewhere that my pet peeve is the way the filmmakers fumbled Fleming's "Blofeld Trilogy." I hope that "SPECTRE" is the beginning of a three-part cycle that will rectify this situation.

    THEREFORE: the next film, Bond 25, simply MUST be a remake of "On His Majesty's Secret Service."

    (Yes, "HIS" Majesty. Elizabeth--God save her--cannot realistically live forever, and her successors for three generations are all male. Anything referencing HER majesty, for QUEEN and Country, etc, will immediately upon her death become a relic of a bygone age.)

    In Bond 26, 007 avenges Tracy and slays "Dr. Shatterhand" in the Garden of Death, possibly perishing himself in the process. (Reboots ensue.)
  • I don´t care how bad some of them are, I never want to see them remade. As for series continuation, I hope they don´t do that anymore after Craig. ´Bond´ to me is a particular attitude, with always the same backstory. It´s because CR and SF were so well made and acted that I love/like them, but in all honesty I´m not interested in seeing how everything shaped him. I´m interested in the way his backstory affects every new adventure. To me Bond is first and foremost a spy, and not some Shakespearean character.
  • aaron819aaron819 Switzerland
    Posts: 1,208
    I would love to see a remake of all the Bond movies. I'm sure that in about 10 years they are going to start doing that. They may use different titles and change the storylines a bit. But they have way bigger budgets now and amazing crews. Don't get me wrong, the Bond films in the 1960s were great too, but I would just like to see all the movies remade with a bigger budget, futuristic sets and great actors and actresses.
  • Posts: 1,478
    I posed this question a long time ago, and the response was pretty quick and negative, so I am glad to see it brought up again.

    I would remake YOLT, DAF, and all the Roger Moore films. I know that upsets RM fans, but the light comedy track that the series went down beginning with DAF never worked for me. The PB films I could care less about. They've always felt like Bond: The Next Generation.

    Beginning with the CR reboot, what had come before no longer existed. Despite dogged attempts to chart a chronology on this site, there is none. From the outset of the series, other than the occasional reference to an earlier adventure, chronology has never been important to the producers. Seriously, are we to pretend that a whole series of films
    fit in between CR and SF? M began as Judi Dench, then became several men, and then Dench again?

    CR erased the past and now the opportunity exists to revisit all the SC and RM films.
    I daresay the majority of today's audiences haven't seen the classics anyway.

    SPECTRE is getting ready to turn everything upside-down and inside-out with its Together again for the First Time Bond-Blofeld reunion. Unless of course this Blofeld is a brother or son of the original.

    If we're remaking relationships we've already seen, then remake the films.

  • Posts: 1,478
    After finishing the previous comment, I was reminded that Sherlock Holmes has been played by dozens of actors and many of the stories redone. I appreciate the fact these have not been under the some producers family as is true of the Bond series.

    But seeing the remakes of Sherlock does nothing to diminish my appreciation of the previous Sherlock Holmes's that I like.



  • BennyBenny In the shadowsAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 14,811

    This leads to my overall question. If you could re-make any of the Bond films, what film(s), would you re-make?? How would you do it? Good idea or bad idea??

    I would personally re-make Thunderball but change the story completely. "TB", is my favorite Bond film by far and I think it would be crazy with today's technology. They could have most of the same script but change specific scenes like for example, that one scene where Bond shoots a shark and then discovers the submarine.


    I've seen TB more times than some members here have had hot dinners. And I must say I have no idea what scene you're referring too.

    CrabKey wrote: »
    CR erased the past and now the opportunity exists to revisit all the SC and RM films.
    I daresay the majority of today's audiences haven't seen the classics anyway.

    If we're remaking relationships we've already seen, then remake the films.

    I've never understood the thin veil of continuity that some fans cling to in an attempt to piece the Bond films together as part of an ongoing series. Other than a few brief throw away lines or situations, it doesn't happen often enough to make it work.
    The Bond films are not in any order or logical sequence to make it possible that they all follow on from the previous one. The change in actors alone makes this impossible.
    I'd rather EON chose not to go down the route of remakes if possible. Although in saying that, many of the films from GF-AVTAK were almost remakes of the previous film.
    The so called Bond formula was quite evident in many of the films, and so the cycle continued.
    I'd rather that they looked at untapped parts of Fleming and used those first. Several of the novels could be used almost entirely as the EON films of the same name had little if anything to do with them aside from the title. (YOLT being an example)
    A remake of a Bond film would seem like a lazy way of continuing the series. Surely someone could write a decent enough story to make this happen.
  • DrShatterhandDrShatterhand Garden of Death, near Belfast
    edited April 2015 Posts: 805
    With a 50+ year film series it's almost inevitably that some of the movies will be remade in some way or other. It's not like this hasn't already happened with TSWLM in a lot of ways being a remake of YOLT (which again was remade in MR).

    If you would've asked me this question only a few years ago I would've been dead against it, but, as time passes, and the older film seeming more and more from a different age, I think it could be quite cool so see some of the RM films in particular modernised and brought closer to the Fleming source material.

    I'd love to see MR done 'properly' but the one that really jumps out at me is TMWTGG. The original isn't particularly well loved and think the idea of a dangerous 'anti-Bond' hunting down 007 is one worth exploring again.
  • Posts: 7,653
    MR is already done too often in various 007 movies and while the book is easily one of the best written in the series it is also the most outdated one with the rocket threat to England.

    I would not mind if they left the oldies alone and came up with new stories or use some of the Gardner, Benson of Celebrity trilogy stories to continue.
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    Off-topic: I have seen this mistake a lot of times and since it bothers me a lot, I just want to make it clear: doing a faithful movie adaptation of the YOLT novel wouldn't be a remake of the 1967 movie You Only Live Twice, because the latter had little to nothing to do with the novel.

    Back on topic: As mentioned above, I'm all for Bond 25 being an updated remake to OHMSS with Bond 26 as Craig's last, with Bond seeking revenge and killing Blofeld/Shatterhand in the Garden of Death.
  • Posts: 1,478
    In some respects, the issue here is a matter of semantics. Rather than remake, how about reimagine, reboot, revitalize, reinterpret.

    I agree that most of the RM series bore very little relation to Fleming's novels, other than title. So technically, none of the films would be remakes. They could even have new titles if necessary. Following up on the latest trend of one word titles beginning with S, a reinterpretation of YOLT could be called SHATTERHAND.

    As mentioned previously, using Gardner's and Benson's novels could also be a consideration. Overall, I feel the best films are those based closely on novels.

  • mcdonbbmcdonbb deep in the Heart of Texas
    Posts: 4,116
    I think Fleming's Blofeld trilogy is going to retold differently but with similar elements starting with Spectra so I think I would do a stand Aline to give audience a break. Hopefully Craig even if 50ish...

    Ok how about a TMWGG remake? Closer to the novel but no brainwashing ..had Bond missing in SF and DAD. No here just an ambitious but erudite thug that didn't had the privileges of Bond . A grass roots aassassin/terrorist for hire... maybe set in Ghana or someplace other than South America.

    No fun house but an extended duel. Cat and mouse movie... scaled back and simple.

    Just a mission... no special hook. Maybe Bond just wanting to get his blood flowing again.


  • Mark_HazzardMark_Hazzard Classified
    edited April 2015 Posts: 127
    I'm right with you @Benny and @DrShatterhand. Personally I feel that there's only need for a remake if an original movie had an interesting idea or plot but the movie itself didn't work out, for example Ocean's Eleven.
    Due to the huge success of the previous Bond movies I think I would be very risky to attempt to improve the original and impossible to capture the "magic" of the previous installments. If one would fail at improving it, the remake would be more sacrilege than an attempt to bring a "fresh" and updated version to the table.

    It would be great however to work with untapped Fleming material. The opening of TMWTGG novel is on the top of my list, although I'd prefer DC wouldn't do it since he's had too much "personal business" in his movies.
    In case of the untapped Fleming material, I'm also looking forward to Anthony Horowitz' "Murder on wheels", which is supposed to feature original work from Fleming himself.

    For now the Bond movies are more in need of new, interesting plots. This is the most difficult challenge the producers face IMO. Even Fleming found it increasingly difficult to put Bond in new situations. However, the world is currently in a situation that can provide plenty of inspiration for 007. Espionage is very relevant these days, a new 'Cold War' situation has developed and there's, unfortunately, a lot of conflict going on in the Middle East.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,548
    The only Bond film I think EON would even "consider" remaking is Thunderball, and that's only because McClory's hands were all over the original (which was still a great film) and because he muddied it further with Never Say Never Again. There might be a sense within Eon that they want to go about doing the film as their own enterprise.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited April 2015 Posts: 17,687
    CrabKey wrote: »
    The PB films I could care less about. They've always felt like Bond: The Next Generation.
    It sounds like you don't care for PB's films, but to say you could care less means you care to some degree...
    In future so as not to confuse people why not phrase it correctly? "I couldn't care less."
    "I could care less" is in the same class as saying "ecksetera" instead of etcetera, or "axe" instead of ask.
    A lot of people worked hard on this language so please use it well.
  • edited April 2015 Posts: 2,189
    What about remaking the novels to the letter of Flemings writing in a TV drama format? Imagine seeing Moonraker done the way Fleming wrote it, as a 50's period piece/drama/action adventure show. Each book could become a seasons worth of episodes and it would allow for more nuanced portrayals of the stories. Again, Moonraker feels like a perfect example to me for this. Imagine the bridge game at Blades where Bond and M have dinner and get drunk and then take down Drax at cards done properly over an hour long episode. I really like this idea...
  • Posts: 1,478
    Chrisisall wrote:
    t sounds like you don't care for PB's films, but to say you could care less means you care to some degree... In future so as not to confuse people why not phrase it correctly? "I couldn't care less." "I could care less" is in the same class as saying "ecksetera" instead of etcetera, or "axe" instead of ask. A lot of people worked hard on this language so please use it well.

    Thank you for the grammar lesson. I will now move forward with this newfound knowledge, unaware as I was that such things mattered here.

    To clarify any confusion, I do not care for PB's films. Not to quibble, but my post was written, rather than spoken, so to say my post sounded like I didn't care is a misrepresentation. Seems or appears would have been better word choices, but who would fault you for that? As for your use of like, you suggest a comparison that simply is not there. More appropriately, as would have been the better choice.

    Thus your revised sentence: "It appears as if you don't care for PB's film...."

    To be clear, I have the highest respect for our language. From time to time I make mistakes, as do we all. I say this in the most respectful way possible, please do not lecture me.

    Regards, Crabkey.



  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 13,879
    As much as I like NSNA, I'm with those who don't want to see any of the films remade. They are what they are, and there is no real need to. I am happy with the films not being faithful to the books- it keeps the two mediums special in that sense. Anyway, there's still a bit of Fleming material left, and EON can always flog the rest from continuation authors and claim it as their own as they have done in the past.

    I could, however, handle a soft remake, in the vein of GF=AVTAK, YOLT=TSWLM=TND etc., as they only use loose plot elements and stick to original character names. In this way, I'd like to see how EON would tackle one of the Cold War films i.e. FRWL/TSWLM/FYEO/OP/TLD. Or perhaps work one of the stand-alone PTSs into a film. I would not be opposed to the novels being faithfully adapted to TV- I believe there is a discussion about it here somewhere.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    My thoughts exactly @QBranch.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    CrabKey wrote: »
    Thus your revised sentence: "It appears as if you don't care for PB's film...."
    Yes, that is more appropriate. Thanks. :)>-
  • Posts: 1,964
    This is an easy one. YOLT by far and make it a true adaptation to the novel. After reading the book which I loved the movie was just uhh why cubby? Why?
  • A new versión of octopussy and moonraker
  • they are not even close to the fleming novels.
    Also Doctor No which fleming's novel is much more gritter and violent.
    For instants, the baracuda and the octopus, something that didn't showed up in the movies.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    While I would enjoy seeing a version of DN that followed Fleming's novel to a T, I wouldn't trade what we have now for the world, nor would I want a remake of any Bond film, as bad as a couple of them might be.
  • Posts: 1,098
    TMWTGG.........Even Cubby Broccoli said this is one Bond film he wished he could rewrite

    OP.............rewrite the Tiger hunt scene, to remove the childish humour, and replace it with a more intence scene.

    OOS..........rewrite most of the film, as it was a true abonimation!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    mepal1 wrote: »
    TMWTGG.........Even Cubby Broccoli said this is one Bond film he wished he could rewrite

    OP.............rewrite the Tiger hunt scene, to remove the childish humour, and replace it with a more intence scene.

    OOS..........rewrite most of the film, as it was a true abonimation!

    OOS = Out Of Softshells, a thrilling edge-of-your-seat James Bond entry that sees Bond driving at lightning fast speeds to his local market to pick up more softshelled tacos before it's too late to eat dinner.
  • Posts: 1,098
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    mepal1 wrote: »
    TMWTGG.........Even Cubby Broccoli said this is one Bond film he wished he could rewrite

    OP.............rewrite the Tiger hunt scene, to remove the childish humour, and replace it with a more intence scene.

    OOS..........rewrite most of the film, as it was a true abonimation!

    OOS = Out Of Softshells, a thrilling edge-of-your-seat James Bond entry that sees Bond driving at lightning fast speeds to his local market to pick up more softshelled tacos before it's too late to eat dinner.

    Oh yeah.....very funny Creasy47!.............QOS :)
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    SPECTRE
    I would focus the movie more on Bond and Madeleine's relationship and would wipe away Oberhauser's character.
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