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By 1990 the Bond franchise was not in it's best shape, the previous four entries had been, and remain to this day, the lowest grossing films of the series. The last entry, Licence to Kill, still stands as the lowest grossing in the 55 year history of the franchise.

Pre-production moved ahead on the next entry regardless, intending to be the third film starring Timothy Dalton and possibly to be titled The Property of a Lady. Legal complications between rights holders Danjaq and MGM/UA over the leasing of the back catalogue that wouldn't be settled until 1993 would see production of the seventeenth film delayed. Long enough that Timothy Dalton's contract would expire and he would be replaced by Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye - the film that would revitalise the franchise and proved it could still draw audiences in the post-Cold War era.

What if MGM/UA never leased the Bond back catalogue to Pathe and caused a legal challenge that would see production on the next Bond film delayed for a few years?

Well for one GoldenEye probably wouldn't have happened. Michael France, who wrote the original draft, only became involved after the legal issues were settled; according to Timothy Dalton a script was ready to go and directors under discussion at the time the legal problems kicked off. Director Martin Campbell was never considered as far back as 1990, though series regular John Glen was along with Ted Kotcheff and John Landis were. Timothy Dalton would almost certainly have returned, though he said at the time he had a gut feeling it would be the franchises last one. In addition, the legal problems and subsequent health problems are what gave Cubby Broccoli the final impetus to hand over the reins to daughter Barbara and stepson Michael G. Wilson, which gave the franchise some much needed fresh blood at the top level, he would still have been in charge on any film released 1991/92.

What sort of film would we have gotten from this production? Probably one more in line with what was made in the nadir of the franchise from the 1980s. Without the lure of a seemingly regenerated series after a hiatus box office returns might have remained as disappointing as they were the decade previously.

What then? Cubby Broccoli would almost certainly have put the rights up for sale (he originally did after the disappointing returns for Licence to Kill, but seems to have reconsidered before a sale was made. Whilst we still might have gotten films they wouldn't be of the same Broccoli ran franchise that was there previously (think Never Say Never Again or the comedy Casino Royale) . It's also possible that the increasingly disappointing returns might have convinced some there was no place for such a relic of the Cold War in the 1990s. If the Bond franchise had become just another property to be bought and sold it's possible what films we did get would have resorted to period settings and other gimmicks to lure audiences back in (this was considered for GoldenEye and briefly after Die Another Day).

What else would have become of James Bond 007 had the main film series died in the early 1990s?
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