I’ve been saying it for years, but my ideal scenario for a reinvented Bond story would be to make a TV miniseries that’s loyal to the original books. A period piece, set in the 1950s that explored Ian Fleming’s original gritty, alcoholic, borderline suicidal Bond who has nothing but the next job in his life. Not the suave, charming, sophisticated womanizer and luxury sports car driver from the 1960s movies and on.

I actually loved the Daniel Craig Bond films because it was the closest we’ve ever seen to the original version of Bond from the novels. Although I absolutely hate the end of his arc. (No spoilers)

I also think they promoted him from rookie 00 agent to tired, grizzled old veteran way too quickly. The first film (Casino Royale) was a masterpiece; one of the best Bond films we’ve ever had, and a great modern retelling of the first ever Bond novel. But Barbara Broccoli panicked when his second film flopped hard, and spent the rest of the Daniel Craig arc trying to win back audiences instead of telling good, engaging stories.

I think reinventing Bond as a TV miniseries would be better, because we could do multiple episodes to tell a grand story arc from the books, or a single episode for the short stories that Ian Fleming compiled. We would have room to tell a good tale without being confined to the limits of film. And it would be fascinating to see Bond in his original era, having to function off raw skill and intellect rather than gadgets.