Bond shouldn’t have died – Author
James Bond author Anthony Horowitz says 007 should never have been killed in Daniel Craig’s final film, No Time To Die. The 67-year-old author, who has been licensed to write new stories about Ian Fleming’s fictional spy by the late writer’s estate, has weighed in on the decision for Craig’s version of the character to die, and admitted he almost considered it for the new book With A Mind To Kill.
He told The Times newspaper: “I didn’t do it because, first of all, I think it would be impertinent of me to kill a character that I hadn’t created and secondly, Bond shouldn’t die, Bond is forever.”
Horowitz explained how he debated asking “the estate for permission to kill Bond”, but decided against it, and insisted producers shouldn’t have made that call either.
He said: “I was sad they did. But it was their decision. I wouldn’t have done it. But that’s only because... I just think that Bond belongs to everybody.”
When it comes to crossovers between his Bond books and the big screen blockbusters, the writer chooses to keep his work entirely separate.
He added: “I never refer to the films. I don’t include information or even lines from the films.”
He pointed to the uncertain future for the franchise, after Amazon bought MGM Holdings, the studio behind the Bond films, in March for almost US$9 billion, while the Fleming estate only controls the book rights.
Asked who should follow Craig in the role, he pondered: “I don’t know how they will have a new Bond since they killed him... And the ownership has changed.”