Bond "universe" building

The Bond films have unfortunately, at times, followed trends rather than create them. Examples:

LALD was made after it was deemed commercially viable to do so following the "blaxploitation" boom of films in the early 70's.
TMWTGG was made, in part, due to the commercial success of the kung-fu films of the early 70's.
MOONRAKER was made to cash in on the success of Star Wars (which has never been denied).
OCTOPUSSY was influenced by RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (though beat Indiana Jones in going to India w TEMPLE OF DOOM)
LICENSE REVOKED was alleged to have been influenced by MIAMI VICE (though I don't see it, and I hate the film).
CASINO ROYALE/QUANTURD OF SOLACE clearly influenced by the JASON BOURNE films.

So,will someone at MGM/SONY decide to jump on the "universe" building that is going on with the comic book films at SONY, MARVEL, and DC? And it's not just the comic book properties of X-MEN, Justice League, Spider-Man, Avengers....it's also STAR WARS. And by "universe" building I'm talking stand alone features or spin-offs of characters found in the original property. We're supposedly going to get stand alone films about Obi-Wan, Boba Fett, and perhaps Yoda. That's just for starters.

Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg, Shazam, and The Flash are all getting at least one stand-alone film (more if successful). You've got Suicide Squad, Sinister Six, Venom, Deadpool, and Gambit in the works. Maybe a stand-alone for Magneto. And the list goes on.

Should EON try and spin off some characters into their own series? A long time ago I would have said yes. In fact, I did say yes. Now,it would simply look like they're following someone else's lead. There was a time when I thought a spin-off involving Felix Leiter would have made sense (so we could have a Felix Leiter film in the off-Bond year), but then they went and hired Jeffrey Wrong for the part, and that killed any enthusiasm I might have had. I was all for a Jinx/Wai Lin spin-off/stand-alone film, but they never got anywhere script-wise.

I suppose at some point, somebody is going to pull the trigger on such an idea and we're going to be faced with it. Who should it be? What should it be? A "Sinister Six" style film involving some of the most recognizable villains working for SPECTRE? An origin story showing how Blofeld became the twisted, evil genius bastard that we all love?

I'm not really sure that universe building in the Bond world would work as well, if at all, as it does in the comic world. Bond has always been a one-man show. I'm not sure you could go in and do stand alone films for characters such as Holly Goodhead, Jinx, or Wai Lin, since the window of opportunity has already passed, plus those Bond Girls were tied to a specific Bond. Stand-alone films, or prequels involving Q and Moneypenny wouldn't really work either, since we've seen their introductions in SKYFALL.

I think if any universe building were to occur, it would probably take place after Craig is replaced by the next actor.

I think they should do a Leiter spin-off where he moves to Seattle and lives with his dad and some British chick. Also, he has an inexplicably heterosexual brother.

CJB wrote:

I think they should do a Leiter spin-off where he moves to Seattle and lives with his dad and some British chick. Also, he has an inexplicably heterosexual brother.

Not sure what the reference is, but if the reference is to FRASIER, I think the more shocking bit of news in all of that is that Frasier's dad apparently lives (whereas he told everyone on CHEERS his father was dead).

But I digress.

I have advocated in the past, and continue to do so, that it might not be a bad thing to expand the 00 universe by creating some 00-agents that could carry their own films and also fill some of the "requirements" that the media has been pushing for the past 20 years or so.

You could get your Idris Elba 00-agent, you could get your female 00 agent, you could get your gay 00-agent, and you still wouldn't have to sacrifice who 007 is as a man. I would support all those movies,but I would not support making Bond black, gay, and/or female.

I think THAT approach would be the most logical approach to expanding the series, and might allow the producers to bring in some of the villains, ideas, and situations from any of the novels (but mostly the continuation) that they didn't want to use on their main project.

You could even bring back Quantum, but just put them in a different 00 film.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

CJB wrote:

I think they should do a Leiter spin-off where he moves to Seattle and lives with his dad and some British chick. Also, he has an inexplicably heterosexual brother.

Not sure what the reference is, but if the reference is to FRASIER, I think the more shocking bit of news in all of that is that Frasier's dad apparently lives (whereas he told everyone on CHEERS his father was dead).

Frasier was leagues ahead of that pub show, therefore it becomes the new canon.

MGM/Sony might be more game for this today than they did 10 years ago. I remember the Jinx spin-off was scrapped because MGM decided not to greenlit it, which pissed off EON for wasting a whole year developing a spin-off that would never be.

But clearly we need a J.W. Pepper series.

I get the impression that Eon is a shoestring operation that struggles to make a Bond film every few years let alone take on extra work. Isn't Call Me Bwana the only non-Bond film Eon's made?

From Bwana's Wikipedia entry it sounds like Quantum of Bwana:

Quote :

Edie Adams ... remembered that the film seemed to be written as it went along; initially her character was a nuclear scientist, then a big-game hunter. One day on the set, she met a stuntwoman dressed like her character, throwing a male stuntman in a jiu jitsu throw; Adams realised that now her character was a secret agent. Adams' original role was given to Anita Ekberg, but as Hope had promised her a role, the script was rewritten to add a new female character.

In fact, the film was indeed being written during shooting. In October 1962, after being in production for two weeks, producer Broccoli hired novelist Paul Jarrico to do a "fast rewrite." Six writers had already worked on the script, "hundreds of jokes had been written about a bumbling explorer and a CIA agent searching for a U.S. space capsule in Africa, but no filmable story had emerged." Jarrico believed the script needed logic. Broccoli subsequently paid Jarrico $2,500 for four weeks' uncredited work.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

LICENSE REVOKED was alleged to have been influenced by MIAMI VICE (though I don't see it, and I hate the film).

I've never understood the Vice comparison, either. To me, it feels more like a second-tier Joel Silver movie from the same era, especially given the Kamen score and the casting of actors like Davi and Grand L. Bush.

CJB wrote:

I think they should do a Leiter spin-off where he moves to Seattle and lives with his dad and some British chick. Also, he has an inexplicably heterosexual brother.

only if John Terry played Felix.

Ffolkes wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

LICENSE REVOKED was alleged to have been influenced by MIAMI VICE (though I don't see it, and I hate the film).

I've never understood the Vice comparison, either. To me, it feels more like a second-tier Joel Silver movie from the same era, especially given the Kamen score and the casting of actors like Davi and Grand L. Bush.

That's more accurate. The only connection I can see to MIAMI VICE is the South American setting and drug lords, but it doesn't ever go for the flair or style of that show. It's much more LETHAL WEAPON than SCARFACE.

The Universe building that is going on left right and centre atm is to me a cynical and contrived marketing strategy that seems to be turning everything into a soap opera. I actually long for the days of early/prime Bond where the franchise was less dogmatically self aware and/or self important.... rather than follow others down this path I'd like the reverse and Bond to become the standard bearer for an entirely self contained film that works within a larger universe without being slavishly bound by it.

I can't see how this would work. There are no characters in the Bondverse calling out for a project of their own.

The only possible thing I can think of is a Rene Mathis series, where Mathis is a French spy who aids the Special Operations Executive during WWII. His name becomes synonymous with someone who can help the British Secret Service, and a closely-guarded secret so that anyone who introduces him- or herself as Mathis is a friend. That way, the series could play out over decades, with different actors in the role.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

I can't see how this would work. There are no characters in the Bondverse calling out for a project of their own.

The only possible thing I can think of is a Rene Mathis series, where Mathis is a French spy who aids the Special Operations Executive during WWII. His name becomes synonymous with someone who can help the British Secret Service, and a closely-guarded secret so that anyone who introduces him- or herself as Mathis is a friend. That way, the series could play out over decades, with different actors in the role.

It would be cool if they had his young self musing how he'd love to be buried in a roadside skip one day.....

I doubt we will ever get Bond spin-off's and quite right too. Who is honestly going to be interested in seeing a 'Felix' or 'Mathis' or whoever spin-off except us hardcore Bond fans? Let EON focus on making cracking good Bond flicks without other unnecessary distractions. The only way I would advocate a Bond spin-off would be if EON was to cave in to the nannies and the tabloids with their frequent requests to see 'American Bond', 'Black Bond', 'Female Bond', 'Gay Bond' etc. Then they could perhaps do an 'Agents of MI6' TV series which would focus on other agents and wouldn't have to affect Bond series at all,

James Bond wrote:

I doubt we will ever get Bond spin-off's and quite right too. Who is honestly going to be interested in seeing a 'Felix' or 'Mathis' or whoever spin-off except us hardcore Bond fans? Let EON focus on making cracking good Bond flicks without other unnecessary distractions. The only way I would advocate a Bond spin-off would be if EON was to cave in to the nannies and the tabloids with their frequent requests to see 'American Bond', 'Black Bond', 'Female Bond', 'Gay Bond' etc. Then they could perhaps do an 'Agents of MI6' TV series which would focus on other agents and wouldn't have to affect Bond series at all,

How many spin-offs has Marvel tried to get out of Spider-Man? The Sinister Six....an all female rogues gallery film...Venom...an Aunt May movie...

Maybe Bond can spin off some movies; show how M was a spy and an agent back in the 50's and 60's, when it wasn't considered a woman's job.

Maybe do a Q prequel spin off. How did Q become a technical guru? Was he a roommate of Marc Zuckerberg? The grandchild of Steve Jobs?

Maybe do a Blofeld prequel, showing him as a 9 year old; an innocent kid who just wanted to do good in the world, but through a turn of events becomes the most ruthless villain known to mankind.

A team-up of the most deadly villains sounds like a terribly good idea. Maybe Bond should have a "sinister six." Scaramanga, Blofeld, Dr.No, Zorin, Drax and Whitaker.

Have an all female sinister six: Xenia, Pussy Galore, May Day, Fatima Blush, Octopussy, and Miranda Frost team up to get revenge on 007.

These are can't miss ideas.

EON, call me!!!

I won't be happy till Jinx gets her deserved stand alone.......and while we're at it why didn't Catwoman get a sequel - criminal just criminal!