Double-Whoah Seven: Quentin Tarantino Once Pitched A James Bond Movie

Leaving Hollywood shaken and not stirred, it turns out gore whore Quentin Tarantino could've loaded up a Walther PPK and taken a shot at the long-running James Bond franchise. As the coronavirus pushes back Cary Fukunaga's No Time to Die and fans wait patiently for Daniel Craig's last turn as the suave spy, it's time to look back at one of the many Bond movies that never happened.

While many modern audiences hold Craig as THE definitive Bond following his four-movie stint as 007, it's important to remember those who've come before him. Asking someone who's the best James Bond is like asking someone who the best Batman is. Each have their pros and cons. However, in the '90s and '00s, Pierce Brosnan embodied everything audiences could want from the character.

Following the middling success of the Licence to Kill in 1989 and criticisms of its darker tone, Timothy Dalton bowed out and the next Bond languished in development hell until GoldenEye in 1995. Brosnan had already been the studio's top choice to take over from Roger Moore in 1986 but had to pass due to his contract with Remington Steele. The actor and his eyebrows saw him through four movies and ended his tenure with the lacklustre Die Another Day in 2002.

According to Brosnan, it was after this that Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino got him particularly drunk and pitched his own Bond movie. Speaking to Esquire during a GoldenEye quarantine watch party, Brosnan explained how the bizarre situation came about. “It was after Kill Bill Vol. 2, and he wanted to meet me, so I went up to Hollywood one day from the beach, and I met him at the Four Seasons,” explained the star.

“I got there at 7pm, I like to be punctual. 7:15 came around, no Quentin, he was upstairs doing press. Someone sent over a martini, so I had a martini, and I waited till 7:30, and I thought, where the heck is he? Word came down, apologies. So I thought, okay, I'll have another martini.”

He admitted that he'd probably had a few too many tipples by the time Tarantino eventually arrived. The 66-year-old continued, “He was pounding the table, saying you're the best James Bond, I wanna do James Bond with you, and it was very close quarters in the restaurant. So I said 'Quentin, please calm down', but you don't tell Quentin Tarantino to calm down.

“Anyway, he wanted to do James Bond, and I went back to the shop and told them but it wasn't meant to be. No Quentin Tarantino for James Bond. What a shame.”

Sadly, Brosnan doesn't go on to reveal what Tarantino had planned for the MI6 marvel, however, you can bet there would've been buckets of blood. If audiences were critical of Licence to Kill's graphic violence and seeing Felix Leiter having his legs eaten by a tiger shark, this would've been nothing compared to Tarantino's vision.

With Tarantino known for iconic scenes like Reservoir Dogs and the ear, Pulp Fiction and the gimp, Django Unchained's bloody Candyland massacre, and Kill Bill Vol. 2's wedding, he has plenty of experience when it comes to leaving jaws on the floor. However, how would this fit with the overall aesthetic of a Bond movie? Despite running for the past 58 years, the Bond movies tend to be a family affair that everyone can watch. I still head to the cinema to watch each new outing with my dad, so it's a little hard to see how Tarantino's R-rated touch would transfer into 007.

That being said, the Craig era has taken on a more serious tone where violence hasn't been an issue. You only have to look at the runaway success of Martin Campbell's Casino Royale and its noir backdrop to see how the Bond audience has changed. Talking about his successor, Brosnan didn't hold back when it came to the latest iteration of 007.

“It's the humour that is not there now in the Bond movies,” concluded Brosnan. “It was the tongue-in-cheek. Connery's flippant throwaway, and Roger Moore's delightfully arch, tongue-in-cheek throwaway (style). So I tried to do the same, keep that lightness of touch.”

Well, with Craig officially hanging up the keys to his Aston Martin after No Time to Die, there could be room for Tarantino to step up to the plate. Although he's teased he's only got one movie left to make and has already given Star Trek the nod, there's no escaping the idea that this gory genius would make a James Bond movie for the ages!