The earliest script drafts for 2015’s Spectre revived one of the best storylines from Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond. Every version of James Bond is different, with some takes on the character leaning into his comedic, self-aware side while other versions of 007 are more gritty and grounded. For example, 2006’s Bond movie Casino Royale almost featured Britney Spears, a decision that would have left the movie leaning much further into self-referential comedy than the brooding, dark version of 007 that Daniel Craig's debut ended up offering.
However, other vetoed James Bond plans were even better than what viewers got. 2015’s Spectre was a lightweight addition to the Daniel Craig James Bond era that failed to recapture the pathos of Skyfall and Casino Royale while also never fully committing to lighter, sillier fun. Spectre’s first drafts, though, featured a jettisoned twist that could have made the movie much more emotionally resonant as its plot almost saw Ben Whishaw’s Q kidnaped instead of Bond’s love interest. This would have given Bond a closer personal connection to the villain’s scheming and would have given viewers more reason to invest in the story, much like M’s abduction plot did in Skyfall.
Why Q Was Originally Held Hostage In Spectre
Skyfall made Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny more than Bond’s secretary in its opening scene when she inadvertently almost caused Bond’s death in a mission that went disastrously wrong. Skyfall continued this trend of giving Bond’s longstanding co-workers bigger, meatier plots in its finale, where M was taken hostage by Silva, and Spectre’s early drafts saw this idea through to its culmination when the villains took Q hostage and Bond was forced to save him. As revealed by BleedingCool, early drafts of Spectre released during the Sony leak featured Q being held hostage alongside Bond at the climax of the movie, with the two men held in adjoining cells and forced to watch each other slowly die.
The somewhat silly explosive watch twist (which No Time To Die director Cary Fukunaga never liked) was also improved in this draft, as Q was present in the jail cell to tell Bond about the secret weapon. This version of the ending also saw Q forced to shoot a man in self-defense, throwing the usually meek, mild-mannered desk worker into a more active role than ever before. It is not clear why the creators of Spectre opted to replace this storyline with Madeleine and Bond’s capture by Blofeld, but Spectre’s underwhelming finale could have been more emotionally resonant if one of Bond’s oldest colleagues was the character who 007 was trying to save.
Spectre Almost Revived Skyfall’s Heartbreaking M Twist
Skyfall’s opening scene saw one of Bond’s co-workers let him down in his hour of need, while Skyfall's ending saw Bond himself do the same to M. While most canceled 007 twists (like Fukunaga’s original No Time To Die ending) were replaced by something more fitting, Q’s capture and his team-up with Bond sounds significantly stronger than what Spectre offered instead. Seeing James Bond save Q from the villains of Spectre would have taken his story full circle and proved that he could rely on his co-workers and they could rely on him, a plot that viewers missed out on due to the script’s changes.