Moneypenny and Q are missing from Daniel Craig's first two James Bond outings, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Once Pierce Brosnan's last Bond outing, Die Another Day, came close to killing off the 007 franchise for good, the producers managed to revitalise the series with Daniel Craig's rugged interpretation of the legendary spy. With No Time To Die set for a November 2020 release, Craig will bow out after his fifth Bond movie, having (mostly) successfully overhauled the franchise.
It's been an interesting ride for Craig, whose debut in Casino Royale was hailed as one of the finest depictions of Bond yet. The movie was notable not just for its darker, more grounded tone, but because it scrapped much of the elements that had previously defined a Bond film – among them, the characters of Miss Moneypenny, secretary to M, and the service's head of research and development, Q.
Dropping Q and Moneypenny was a bold move that initially seemed to work for the newly-reinvigorated franchise. Craig's debut coincided with an effort on the part of producers to renew public interest in the series by introducing a younger Bond at the beginning of his 00 agent career. Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale, the first Bond story, was an obvious choice for the source material. The book featured only a fleeting mention of Miss Moneypenny, while Q was completely absent. As such, neither character appeared in the film (despite there being some big differences between Casino Royale and the book) nor its follow-up, Quantum of Solace. This marked a significant period for the Bond saga, which had previously featured Moneypenny in 20 of its prior films and Q in 19.
Making such a drastic change made a lot of sense at the time. Following the disappointing Die Another Day, which is widely considered the worst Bond film, 007 was in need of a reboot that brought the character into the modern age. Casino Royale was the answer. The 21st Bond movie ditched Brosnan's veteran spy in favor of Craig's unrefined lone-wolf, jettisoning much of the over-the-top hijinks that contributed to Die Another Day's problems in the process. Prior to the film's launch, producer Michael Wilson clarified the reasoning behind dropping Moneypenny and Q, saying "neither of them are in the book. The film will update the novel but stick very closely to the storyline" (Moneypenny is in fact mentioned in Ian Flemming's Casino Royale novel, if only very briefly). Regardless, the movie's producers were clearly content with dropping two of the saga's most enduring characters and staying accurate to the original Bond book in order to shake up a series that had become increasingly stale.
When it came time for the next installment, Quantum Of Solace was planned as a direct sequel to Royale, shackling the filmmakers to the Q and Moneypenny-less world established in the previous film. This time, however, there was no Fleming source material to back up the lack of the two characters. But after the success of the first Craig movie, there was seemingly no need to mess with a winning formula. Unfortunately, the problem-plagued Quantum of Solace was poorly received by audiences, leaving Bond once again in-need of reinvention.
When 2012's Skyfall arrived, it came toting an array of historic Bond tropes, such as the iconic Aston Martin DB5, complete with ejector seat. The film also made the bold move of Killing Off Judi Dench's M, clearing the way for Ralph Fiennes' 'Mallory' and his secretary: Moneypenny, (Naomie Harris). Skyfall also saw the return of Q (Ben Whishaw) who would once again oversee Q-Branch and its Bond gadgets. The film's writer, John Logan, spoke about Skyfall refreshing the Bond series, saying: "It's about Bond coming back to life in a new world." Fortunately, that new world contained some old faces, with Q and Moneypenny also returning for the Skyfall follow-up Spectre.
