In a sign of respect, the iconic M character does not appear in James Bond's For Your Eyes Only. Although 007 is always the star of the show, Britain's most famous spy is forever surrounded by his familiar and reliable supporting cast. There's the long-suffering Moneypenny, the scientific genius known as Q, and Bond's CIA ally Felix Leiter. Arguably the most important of Bond's friends, however, is M, the head of MI6 and 007's boss, always ready to send his top man into danger or complain when James' maverick tendencies get the better of him.

While others come and go, M has been a constant presence in the James Bond franchise, and was first portrayed by Bernard Lee in 1962's Dr. No. Occupying MI6's top job for over decade, Lee was succeeded by Robert Brown for the latter Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton films, before Judi Dench took over in the Brosnan and Craig eras. In a James Bond first, 2012's Skyfall showed the transition of one M to the next, with Dench bequeathing the role to Ralph Fiennes. Part of the furniture at MI6 headquarters, it's impossible not to notice M's absence from Roger Moore's fifth installment.

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Sadly, the reason for M's lack of involvement is the passing of Bernard Lee. After giving Sean Connery his very first orders, Lee went on to play M in 11 James Bond movies, with his final credit coming via 1979's Moonraker. The actor was included in the For Your Eyes Only script when filming began in September 1980, but M's scenes were yet to be filmed when Lee was admitted to hospital that November, diagnosed with stomach cancer. Bernard Lee passed away on January 16 1981 at the age of 73.

James Villiers as Bill Tanner in Bond For Your Eyes Only

At the time of Lee's death, production on For Your Eyes Only was still ongoing, and with M's scenes still not filmed, there was time for producers to recast the role, as they inevitably would at some stage. However, Eon opted against the idea, and in a mark of respect for the late James Bond stalwart, For Your Eyes Only remains the sole 007 adventure not to include Bond's famous MI6 superior. The script was rewritten to explain M as being "on leave" and the necessary plot exposition was split between James Villiers' Bill Tanner (the MI6 chief of staff) and Geoffrey Keen's Sir Frederick Gray, the United Kingdom's Minister of Defense. After taking his leave for a single film, M returned in 1983's Octopussy with the new face of Robert Brown, and would continue to brief Bond for years to come under various guises.

Needless to say, the absence of M (or, more accurately, the absence of Bernard Lee) is keenly felt in For Your Eyes Only, as his performances were always considered authentic to Ian Fleming's original book character. While the role certainly could have been recast in time, keeping M off-screen was the most respectful way to mark the passing of James Bond's longest serving actor (Desmond Llewelyn's Q didn't appear until From Russia With Love) under difficult circumstances. When the search for a new M finally did begin, rumors suggested James Villiers would be in line for a promotion, on-screen and off, and the actor himself was reportedly disappointed not to land the gig. While the reasons for choosing Brown over Villiers were creative in nature (the latter was deemed too young), promoting Bill Tanner to the Head of MI6 risked negating the reason M was omitted from For Your Eyes Only in the first place, since the film would still technically still include the character in some form.

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