Pierce Brosnan’s Most Twisted and Whimsical James Bond Movie Originally Had a Much Better, Deeper Title

James Bond has remained a fan-favorite franchise through the decades, surviving not only the Cold War era by preying on the ideas of Russian espionage and imminent nuclear war but also adapting to the modern world by reflecting the ways of the 21st-century spycraft through Daniel Craig’s 007. However, the IP always seemed to get one thing wrong regarding its ambitious plots – the necessity of finding relevance in the story.

Despite the overarching missions and over-the-top villains, the spy franchise never failed to keep the audience thoroughly entertained throughout its runtime. But without a change in trajectory, Bond would have fallen victim to the age-old disease of mass disinterest incurred due to the repetition of a formulaic plot.

One writer, however, had an idea for a script that could have introduced a Bond film unlike any ever done before. But like Icarus who flew too close to the sun, the writer’s ambitious idea was simply too risky to undertake due to the fear of being burned and discarded by the audience.

James Bond Franchise Overexploits Its Success Formula

The James Bond franchise has always remained obsessed with high-stakes risk-it-all missions, the failure of which could mean catastrophic disaster for all mankind. The situation, however, despite its grave consequences could only be delegated to one expert womanizing super spy, who could always maneuver his way out of a bind, armed with nothing but wit and charm.

Enter a beautiful Bond girl and a Bond villain and the plot should undoubtedly always lead to an exotic location, a betrayal of the heart, a ski chase sequence on a snowy mountain slope, a car chase scene that allows 007 to show off all the cool gadgetry, and a big showdown that ends with James Bond saving the world in the nick of time, all the while looking as cool, suave, and gentlemanly as ever.

However, a story can only copy the same formula so many times before it starts to feel outright tiresome and unoriginal. Veteran Star Trek scriptwriter Nicholas Meyer understood that when he stepped up to the plate and shouldered the responsibility of crafting a brand-new James Bond story that would discard its past shell and adopt an entirely new approach to the world-famous spy’s arc.

Nicholas Meyer Attempts to Bring Real Threat to 007

In a world driven to the brink of self-destruction due to the overexploitation of its resources, nothing seems more apt than to question the effects of overpopulation. In fact, James Bond almost arrived at the same conclusion until the idea was stolen from him and replaced with a mind-numbingly stereotypical tech-bro villain portrayed by Jonathan Pryce who at least made the movie tolerable in the face of all the 007 hype fest.

In his treatment for Pierce Brosnan‘s 1997 Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, Meyer came up with a certifiably genius arc for the lead character that would allow James Bond to face an actual threat with real-world implications without resorting to cartoonish dramatization. After all, he did succinctly point out: “The James Bond films are as rigid in their format as an English sonnet.” 

In his pitch, Meyer introduces a villain concerned not with the gold in Fort Knox or starting World War 3 but with the rising global population that represents a more urgent threat to mankind.

Mr. Big explains [to Bond that] he’s trying to address a planetary crisis no politician is even willing to mention. “Even lemmings know what to do when they grow too numerous, do they not, Mr. Bond? 007 – that’s some kind of license, isn’t it? Tell me, Mr. Bond, how much game are you allowed to bag with that license? Will you help me, sir? Will you help me to save planet Earth?”

Mr. Big goes on to explain, in my spiel, that he wants to shrink Earth’s population by starting a war between India and China, the two most populous nations on the planet, and Bond agrees to do this.

Moreover, Mr. Big, the villain, was also modeled on a William Randolph Hearst-like character with a newspaper company optimistically titled Tomorrow. In Nicholas Meyer’s version, the 007 film was very appropriately named Tomorrow Never Lies – giving a crucial insight into the complex gray morality of the choice Bond had to make and his ability to sympathize with the villain’s endgame.

However, the franchise’s complacency with disrupting the status quo and overturning people’s expectations with a new formula made Barbara Broccoli scamper away in fear claiming, “It’s too serious.” Instead, Meyer was booted from the project and his script was replaced with a plot that can hardly be differentiated from what came before and armed with the nonsensical title, Tomorrow Never Dies.

Tomorrow Never Dies is available for streaming on Prime Video and Max.