Did EON Productions have a Bond trilogy planned out for Dalton?

GothamKnight1902

Clearly, The Living Daylights was written for Roger Moore and ironically, GoldenEye was written for Timothy Dalton but I think Bond actor #4 and Bond actor #5 made the best of it. They must've thought, "Well, this role wasn't written for me but, I'm still gonna do my best."

I don't know if Licence to Kill was written for Timothy Dalton or somebody else entirely.

Ricardo C.

GothamKnight1902 wrote:

Clearly, The Living Daylights was written for Roger Moore and ironically, GoldenEye was written for Timothy Dalton but I think Bond actor #4 and Bond actor #5 made the best of it. They must've thought, "Well, this role wasn't written for me but, I'm still gonna do my best."

I don't know if Licence to Kill was written for Timothy Dalton or somebody else entirely.

I don't think either actor thought they were in an out of character role because only the atmosphere really reflected a previous actors. The Living Daylights had Moore-isms but I disagree that it was entirely with Moore in mind. Remember he already resigned two years before and The Living Daylights had far less quips and one-liners then the average Moore films. As for Goldeneye it's the same; When Brosnan was brought in they added a flood of one-liners and changed Bond's personality back to the old status-quo. The way 006 insisted he was only loyal to the mission was definetly not the 007 that went bat-**** crazy in Licence To Kill.

PPK 7.65mm

According to various interviews with Timothy Dalton and others in the production team, Licence to Kill was written with his strengths as an actor in mind. As for a three film plan, all I know that rumors have circulated the Internet for a few years, yet Micheal G. Wilson has never come forward and acknowledged that these rumors have any truth to them. Dalton himself would have loved to made more films, had all the legal issues at MGM/ United Artists not taken so long to sort out.

My personal take on this is, that the film that became Goldeneye was planed as Dalton's from the start, everybody at EON was ready for him to come back and were a little surprised at his announcement in 1994 that he would not be returning.

Ricardo C.

PPK 7.65mm wrote:

According to various interviews with Timothy Dalton and others in the production team, Licence to Kill was written with his strengths as an actor in mind.

I have heard that line also and as Bond would probably say "They're full of it". Dalton was the right actor in the wrong script.

My personal take on this is, that the film that became Goldeneye was planed as Dalton's from the start, everybody at EON was ready for him to come back and were a little surprised at his announcement in 1994 that he would not be returning.

Yeah I actually have the first draft and it was completed in Janurary of 1994, months before Dalton announced his resignation in April. Bond wasn't as grim and workman-like as Licence To Kill, more like The Living Daylights. When Brosnan was hired, a lot more one-liners were added and his personality changed completely to reflect a light hearted Bond.

Mister Greene

I liked Goldeneye but it would have been much better with Timothy Dalton, too bad this didn't happen

Ricardo C.

Mister Greene wrote:

I liked Goldeneye but it would have been much better with Timothy Dalton, too bad this didn't happen

Many of the changes from the first draft was a good thing, the action was bloated and Trevelyan was even more of a generic Bond villian than he was in the film. However I am sure if Dalton did stay on, the film probably would have been sharper then Brosnan's GE.

zaphod

Ricardo C. wrote:

Mister Greene wrote:

I liked Goldeneye but it would have been much better with Timothy Dalton, too bad this didn't happen

Many of the changes from the first draft was a good thing, the action was bloated and Trevelyan was even more of a generic Bond villian than he was in the film. However I am sure if Dalton did stay on, the film probably would have been sharper then Brosnan's GE.

I'm a real 'Daltonite' and for me he is the closet incarnation of the character to date. I'm sure that GE would have been sharper with Dalton (there is a very rare pre-production poster showing Dalton in Goldeneye ) However I was quite concerned that Brosnan would signal a return to what are for me the 'dark days' of Bond productions. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised by the finished result although still misty eyed over what might have been...

Number24

I believe the standard contract for the Bond actors is for three films. Any movies after that there is a new contract for each one.

Ricardo C.

zaphod wrote:

Ricardo C. wrote:

Mister Greene wrote:

I liked Goldeneye but it would have been much better with Timothy Dalton, too bad this didn't happen

Many of the changes from the first draft was a good thing, the action was bloated and Trevelyan was even more of a generic Bond villian than he was in the film. However I am sure if Dalton did stay on, the film probably would have been sharper then Brosnan's GE.

I'm a real 'Daltonite' and for me he is the closet incarnation of the character to date. I'm sure that GE would have been sharper with Dalton (there is a very rare pre-production poster showing Dalton in Goldeneye ) However I was quite concerned that Brosnan would signal a return to what are for me the 'dark days' of Bond productions. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised by the finished result although still misty eyed over what might have been...

At the very least, Bond's character would have been a lot less one-dimensional had Dalton stayed on.

thesecretagent

I'd have liked to see Dalton in Goldeneye. He could have brought a lot less GQ to the role.

Ricardo C.

thesecretagent wrote:

I'd have liked to see Dalton in Goldeneye. He could have brought a lot less GQ to the role.

Yes. You see that's the thing I couldn't stand about Brosnan in Goldeneye, he looks too much like a male-model. And when he got older, he looked a CEO of a fortune 500 company.Connery, Dalton,Craig, and Lazenby; They always looked dangerous even in their fancy clothers.

perdogg

From what I understand is there was supposed to new a Bond film in 1991 or 1992 called "Property of A Lady" which was supposed to take place in Scotland and Hong Kong and involve fembots.

Ricardo C.

perdogg wrote:

From what I understand is there was supposed to new a Bond film in 1991 or 1992 called "Property of A Lady" which was supposed to take place in Scotland and Hong Kong and involve fembots.

That title was just a rumor but the rest is true. James Bond was suppose to battle a robot. Ugh.

Napoleon Plural

I kind of have the view that Dalton got pushed, not by Broccoli but by the money men at MGM.

One bit of nonsense from the rewrite; how could 30something Sean Bean have been around at the end of WW2? He'd be 50+, the age of Anthony Hopkins or whatever actor would have played Bond's mentor figure as originally envisaged in that role.

zaphod

Napoleon Plural wrote:

I kind of have the view that Dalton got pushed, not by Broccoli but by the money men at MGM.

One bit of nonsense from the rewrite; how could 30something Sean Bean have been around at the end of WW2? He'd be 50+, the age of Anthony Hopkins or whatever actor would have played Bond's mentor figure as originally envisaged in that role.

I know, the same thing jarrs with me. Watched GE on T.V. last night (in UK).My wife ruined it for me by noticing that Pierce was 'Channelling Zoolander' with his 'Blue-Steel' pout.

Ricardo C.

Napoleon Plural wrote:

I kind of have the view that Dalton got pushed, not by Broccoli but by the money men at MGM.

Well pretty much. I heard Cubby wanted Dalton back but MGM didn't so Dalton resigned because he knew he was probably holding production of the film.

One bit of nonsense from the rewrite; how could 30something Sean Bean have been around at the end of WW2? He'd be 50+, the age of Anthony Hopkins or whatever actor would have played Bond's mentor figure as originally envisaged in that role.

Yes it never made any sense and Alec Trevelyan was badly written as a character himself. They kept on making him out to be "the man who know's Bond" but he came off as a generic Bond villian who did generic Bond villian things. Alec was surprised at Bond popping up at every turn, put in him easily escapable situations, and of course, he brung him into the control room of the evil base. He's really the cookie cutter Bond villian and the only reason people slobber all over him was because he could fight. 8-)

zaphod

Ricardo C. wrote:

Napoleon Plural wrote:

I kind of have the view that Dalton got pushed, not by Broccoli but by the money men at MGM.

Well pretty much. I heard Cubby wanted Dalton back but MGM didn't so Dalton resigned because he knew he was probably holding production of the film.

One bit of nonsense from the rewrite; how could 30something Sean Bean have been around at the end of WW2? He'd be 50+, the age of Anthony Hopkins or whatever actor would have played Bond's mentor figure as originally envisaged in that role.

Yes it never made any sense and Alec Trevelyan was badly written as a character himself. They kept on making him out to be "the man who know's Bond" but he came off as a generic Bond villian who did generic Bond villian things. Alec was surprised at Bond popping up at every turn, put in him easily escapable situations, and of course, he brung him into the control room of the evil base. He's really the cookie cutter Bond villian and the only reason people slobber all over him was because he could fight. 8-)

Babs seemed mighty keen on him...she does seem to have a thing for rough/craggy looking Blondes

Napoleon Plural

zaphod wrote:

Babs ... does seem to have a thing for rough/craggy looking Blondes

The casting sessions for Bond 23, and Ms Broccoli is accused of going too far:

Ricardo C.

I would liked to have have seen Sean Bean as James Bond. Though Trevelyan was a lousy villian, he carried himself and delivered his lines in a better manner than Brosnan ever did.