Since the James Bond movies follow a pretty rigid plot formula, one might assume that they’re easy to write. After coming up with an explosive opening set piece, you just have to think of a megalomaniacal villain, give them a ridiculous plan, and have 007 thwart that plan by way of a brief fling with a one-dimensional love interest and some globetrotting action.
But writing a Bond movie isn’t as easy as that makes it sound. Each of 007’s cinematic outings have gone through a ton of different drafts, and plenty of ideas ended up on the cutting room floor. So, here are the 10 best unused concepts from James Bond movies.
A Rooftop Chase Across London (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)
Although the casting of an Australian model as James Bond was initially controversial, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service ended up being one of the best 007 movies ever made. From a filmmaking perspective, it’s arguably the one with the best craft.
There was an action scene cut from the script due to concerns about the runtime. Bond was going to spot one of Blofeld’s henchmen listening in on his meeting with Sir Hilary, and it would’ve led to a breathtaking chase across the rooftops of London.
Death By Bra (Thunderball)
At the end of the final version of Thunderball, Bouvar is killed by a poker. However, in the original version of the script, his death scene was more unique and memorable, with a disguised Bouvar being strangled to death with his own bra.
Jaws’ Sidekick (Moonraker)
The early script drafts and storyboards for Moonraker featured a character who didn’t make it to the screen: a henchman named Ratz. Ratz would’ve acted as a sort of sidekick for Jaws, appearing alongside him in the cable car set piece.
Unlike most henchman characters, the 007 movies reused Jaws a couple of times. Giving him a comical sidekick could’ve been a good way to keep the character fresh.
Elephant Chase (The Man With The Golden Gun)
The most ludicrous of all of Roger Moore’s ludicrous 007 movies, The Man with the Golden Gun almost featured an elephant chase. Producer Harry Saltzman really wanted a scene involving an elephant stampede that could lead to Bond and Scaramanga jumping on the backs of a couple of elephants for a chase sequence.
Saltzman ordered 2,600 pairs of elephant shoes, despite the creative team having cold feet about the idea, but the scene never ended up being filmed.
Jinx Spin-Off (Die Another Day)
Halle Berry’s role as Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day was expected to lead into a spin-off franchise centered around the character. A surprisingly gritty script was written for the first Jinx-focused spin-off, but it ended up being called off after Die Another Day’s negative reception and the box office failure of Berry’s Catwoman movie.
The tone of the proposed Jinx spin-off helped to inspire the Eon team to grit-ify the mainline Bond franchise with its next reboot, Casino Royale.
Q In Danger (Spectre)
In early drafts of the script for Spectre, there was a plotline involving Q being kidnapped and Bond locked in a cell opposite him. They’d be forced to watch each other die, and ultimately escape when Q reminded Bond about the explosives in his watch.
It was reportedly cut because it was too similar to Benji’s capture in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, but 007 fans have since expressed disappointment that this idea was dropped in favor of yet another damsel-in-distress storyline.
A Chase Across The Great Wall Of China (Licence To Kill)
When Licence to Kill was in pre-production, the producers planned to set the movie in China, with set pieces ranging from a fist fight in a museum to a chase across the Great Wall.
The novelty of shooting in China wore off after the release of The Last Emperor and Eon changed the setting. It would’ve been interesting if the producers stuck to their guns and shot in China anyway.
Goldfinger’s Evil Twin Brother (Diamonds Are Forever)
In the original screenplay for Diamonds Are Forever written by Richard Maibaum, the villain was going to be Auric Goldfinger’s twin brother out for revenge.
The plan was to cast Gert Fröbe, who played the titular villain in Goldfinger, to play the twin. When Tom Mankiewicz rewrote the script, he excised this fascinating story element.
Bond Vs. Italian Mobsters (Thunderball)
SPECTRE didn’t originally make an appearance in Thunderball. The villains were originally Italian mobsters working for the Sicilian Mafia. Largo would be revealed as a gang lord. This explains why most of the film’s baddies are played by Italian actors.
Although the revelation of SPECTRE made for some thrilling worldbuilding, it would’ve been awesome to see 007 take on a bunch of mafiosos.
Using The Book’s Darker Ending (Casino Royale)
The original script for Casino Royale kept the refreshingly dark and gritty tone going to the very end, with a grim ending similar to that of the book.
Originally, Vesper was going to confess and then commit suicide before Bond chased down the bad guys. It would’ve suited the uniquely intense tone of the movie.