James Bond has quit the British Secret Service or been disavowed a number of times over the course of the 007 film series. Starting with Sean Connery's debut as the suave secret agent in 1962's Dr. No, James Bond has been one of the longest running movie franchises in history, with the 25th film, No Time To Die starring Daniel Craig, scheduled to be released in November 2020.
As a Double-O agent with a license to kill, James Bond defends Queen and country from all manner of terrorist threats, evil megalomaniacs, and global criminal organizations bent on world domination. 007 is an incorruptible servant of the Crown fighting for post-Imperial Great Britain's interests and, occasionally, on the side of the United States as well. As such, James Bond is totally dedicated to his job and he gives everything he has to the British Secret Intelligence Services AKA MI6. But every now and then, even 007 finds he's had enough of risking his life to follow orders and he chooses to walk away from his career as a globetrotting secret agent.
Because the Bond movies are eternal, James Bond never leaves MI6 permanently; he always returns to don his tailored suits, pack his Walther PPK sidearm, and go back to work. Still, when 007 does quit, he does so dramatically. Over the course of the original Bond canon spanning Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan, 007 voluntarily left the Secret Service twice - once for love and once for revenge - and he was disavowed by M (Judi Dench) once.
It should be noted that Connery and Roger Moore's versions of James Bond never quit and remained loyal to the Service; in fact, their Bonds were especially satisfied with life as a gentleman spy. Conversely, in Daniel Craig's rebooted 21st-century Bond canon, his volatile 007 quit MI6 in every movie except 2008's Quantum of Solace. Altogether, here's every instance when James Bond left MI6 or was sacked, and the circumstances why he walked away from his license to kill.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
James Bond (George Lazenby) fell in love in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and decided to quit to marry Tracy di Vincenzo (Diana Rigg). After a whirlwind romance, which was set up by Tracy's crime lord father Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), Bond finally popped the question while he and Tracy were on the run in Switzerland. Bond promised Tracy he'd quit the British Secret Service and "find something else to do." They were married at the end of the film but moments later, Tracy was assassinated by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) and Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat).
It's not 100% clear if Bond actually retired in order to get married, although his colleagues from the Secret Service, M (Bernard Lee), Q (Desmond Llewelyn), and Ms. Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) all attended the happy ceremony. But James was planning to start a large family with Tracy so it's likely he did offer his resignation before his nuptials. But once Tracy was dead, Bond (Sean Connery) was out for revenge and began a global manhunt for Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever.
Earlier in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Bond actually writes a resignation later when he's furious at M because he thinks his boss has lost confidence in him. However, Moneypenny changed James' resignation letter to a request for two weeks of vacation, which M approved. Both M and Bond were grateful to Moneypenny for her cooler head prevailing.
Licence To Kill (1989)
James Bond (Timothy Dalton) quit the British Secret Service in Licence to Kill, the first Bond film with a largely original story and not using the title of an Ian Fleming novel. When the film begins, Bond is the best man at Felix Leiter's (David Hedison) wedding but, when Felix's bride Della Churchill (Priscilla Barnes) is murdered by henchmen sent by drug kingpin Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), 007 goes AWOL and pursues a personal vendetta.
When M (Robert Brown) orders 007 to stand down and stop his private mission of revenge, Bond angrily resigns from MI6 and he even attacks fellow agents to escape custody. Later in the film, Q joins the former 007 on his mission without authorization. Still, after Bond kills Sanchez, his Double-0 status was restored, though Pierce Brosnan would inherit the role when 007 returned in 1995's GoldenEye.
Die Another Day (2002)
In Die Another Day's pre-credits sequence, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is trapped in North Korean enemy lines behind the Demilitarized Zone. Bond is imprisoned and tortured by the North Koreans for fourteen months; during which time, M was forced to assume 007 had surrendered state secrets. The British Secret Service had no choice but to disavow James Bond, even after MI6 regained custody of 007 in a prisoner exchange. But Bond escapes MI6 and goes on the lam to chase after the film's villain Gustav Graves, (Toby Stephens). Eventually, Bond's Double-O status was reactivated and 007 saved the world one final time in the franchise's original continuity.
Casino Royale (2006)
Casino Royale is the second time James Bond quits MI6 for love and it also began Daniel Craig's 007's tradition of resigning from MI6. In Casino Royale, Bond falls in love with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), his liaison from Her Majesty's Treasury. Unaware that Vesper is a double agent being blackmailed by Quantum, Bond follows his heart and resigns from the Secret Service in order to romantically sail around the world with Vesper. Bond even emails M his formal resignation letter when they sailed into Venice, Italy.
Ultimately, Bond discovered Vesper's duplicity and she dies violently at the end of the film. This only rededicated Bond to his career as a secret agent, which was something M was expecting since she shrewdly decided not to acknowledge Bond's attempt to resign.
Skyfall (2012)
James Bond wasn't planning to quit the Secret Service at the start of Skyfall but, during an operation in Turkey in the pre-titles sequence that found 007 slugging it out with a mercenary named Patrice (Ola Rapace) atop a train, Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) accidentally shot James with a sniper rifle. Bond was presumed killed in action but, unbeknownst to MI6, 007 survived. However, Bond took the opportunity and decided to stay "dead"; he secretly quit the Secret Service to live on a beach in Turkey. Still, once Bond learned that a rogue former agent named Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) was pursuing a personal vendetta against M, he resurfaced and returned to action.
Spectre (2015)
James Bond's most recent resignation from MI6 came at the conclusion of Spectre. After he apprehended Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), the leader of the covert global terrorist network called Spectre, Bond apparently retired and drove away from London in his Aston Martin DB5 with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) at his side. No Time To Die will pick up the story a few years later and bring James Bond back to action once more, so, naturally, even his most recent retirement from the British Secret Service inevitably doesn't stick.
