Catherine Opie’s Untitled #10 (Surfers) (2003).

Director Marc Forster tells New York he had surprisingly few disagreements with the Bond proprietors (see our profile here). “For instance, my concern was the product placement. And they said, ‘We have contracts that say they should be in the background — we don’t have to shoot a close-up.’” But he did reveal that there was friction over one plot point that could have turned 007 into a baby daddy. According to Forster, Bond nearly became a father in a plot twist written by one of Quantum of Solace’s many screenwriters, Paul Haggis.

“Haggis had an idea they weren’t fond of, and I didn’t know if it would work or not,” says Forster. “The idea was that Vesper in the last movie, maybe she had a kid, and there would be an orphan out there. It wasn’t anything to insult the franchise. But they felt it wasn’t particularly Bond — him looking for the kid. I think Paul thought he just leaves the kid, he doesn’t deal with it. But [the producers] thought that would be really nasty, too, because Bond was an orphan himself. If he would find a kid, would he just leave it? They were so vehemently against it. That was the only time I saw, really, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ They said, ‘Once he finds the kid, Bond can’t just leave the kid. It’s not right.’”

Oh! But a tiny baby Bond would’ve been so cuuuute! Just think of the adorable sippy-cup martinis! The hot babes in diapers! The Bugaboo product placement (Q could outfit one with machine guns)! And the spinoff possibilities: The Spy Who Changed Me! What a missed opportunity.

Related: Agent of Change [NYM]

