The character of James Bond has listed resurrection amongst his hobbies, but speculation is our game today. Your own ideal fantasy James Bond film probably depends on what sort of Bond you’re into. If you like serious 007, you probably consider it a crying shame that Timothy Dalton didn’t get to make at least one more film. A fair proportion of the fandom consider Never Say Never Again to be one of the worst of the series, so for them, rolling the dice on a 1976 production with a different actor and a more exciting script would have been worth it.

Furthermore, a Sony Pictures produced rival film with, say, Liam Neeson in the late 1990s could have been fascinating. How about Connery returning to the role in his 60s? All of these possibilities were up for grabs at one time or another.

Let’s dream a little. Had any of the following actually come to fruition, then the James Bond franchise as we know it would have been a very different beast…

The First James Bond

Cary Grant

The Scenario: A different initial Bond actor for Dr. No. A different initial Fleming adaptation.