How a Connery Return Could Have Changed the Bond Franchise

Hollywood is full of missed opportunities, and one major move in the James Bond franchise was ignored when Die Another Day was being made: the idea of bringing Sean Connery back. Director Lee Tamahori imagined a moment where Pierce Brosnan’s Bond receives a message to go to Scotland and meets Connery, confirming that "James Bond" is a codename and that the films share a single universe.

Longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson rejected the notion, preferring the conventional lore that Bond has always been the same person, "kinda like Superman or Sherlock Holmes." Embracing the codename idea would have simplified continuity—explaining future recasts and allowing fan-favorite characters to return, with the piece arguing Halle Berry’s Jinx could easily have appeared in a Craig movie.

Practical barriers also loomed. Connery’s relationship with the Broccolis had become strained and he eventually retired, making a comeback difficult.

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