Speculation is rife as to how Bond 26 will continue the James Bond series, but its creators only need to look at the franchise’s latest reboot for inspiration. Following Daniel Craig’s departure from the role of James Bond and the character’s unprecedented demise at the end of 2021’s No Time To Die, what lies in store for the 007 franchise is anyone’s guess. It’s likely that the series will once again start from scratch. Luckily, the franchise already created the template for how to do a perfect James Bond reboot way back in 2006.

Based on the character from Ian Fleming’s James Bond books, the 007 series first began with 1962’s Dr. No. Since then, it has become one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, with Eon’s 25 official James Bond films equally a combined box office total of just over $5.8 billion (via The Numbers). The series is set to continue with Bond 26, and while not a lot is currently known about the upcoming movie, it could benefit from the same treatment as the last 007 reboot.

Bond 26 Should Be Another Original Story Remake (Like Casino Royale)

The Daniel Craig Movie Proved Extremely Popular With Audiences

James Bond movies can essentially be sorted into three categories; faithful adaptations of Fleming’s novels, loose adaptations, and original stories. Broadly speaking, the franchise started off with more faithful adaptations, and as the series progressed, looser adaptations began to appear before giving way to mostly original stories. The biggest exception to these rules, however, is 2006’s Casino Royale. Starring Daniel Craig in his first outing as Bond, Casino Royale was the first 007 movie to be based on an Ian Fleming work since 1987’s The Living Daylights. Interestingly, that’s not the only thing of note about the film.

Owing to the fact that Casino Royale was Fleming’s debut James Bond novel, the film adaptation effectively serves as a reboot of the series, depicting Bond at the very start of his 00 career. What’s more is that 2006’s Casino Royale is the only example of a remake within the franchise (if 1983’s Never Say Never Again, an unofficial remake of Thunderball isn’t included). Casino Royale was previously adapted into a 1967 movie starring David Niven and Peter Sellers, though the film only loosely follows the story of the book and instead adopts a broadly comedic tone.

The Daniel Craig version of Casino Royale proved to be a hit with both critics and audiences, scoring a Fresh rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and earning $594 million at the worldwide box office. The decision to return to Fleming’s original material and start the series over was ultimately one that paid off. As such, Bond 26 could take inspiration from Casino Royale‘s success and eschew an original script in favor of adapting one of the novels.

Lots Of Bond Movies Would Be Suitable For Remakes

Not Every 007 Film Is A Classic

Of course, by this point, every single one of Fleming’s Bond novels has been adapted in some way, and while there are still a number of 007 short stories that have yet to make it to the screen, these don’t always make the best basis for feature films. If Bond 26 were to be based on one of Fleming’s novels, it would have to be a remake. However, this is certainly not a bad thing. After all, Casino Royale was a remake of a 39-year-old movie, and that’s now considered one of the best entries in the entire franchise.

Furthermore, while it’s technically true that every Fleming novel has been adapted for screen, not all of them have been adapted faithfully. Several Bond films bear very little resemblance to their source material, sharing not much else than their titles in common. 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, for example, features a villain who isn’t present in the book, while 1979’s Moonraker swaps out a straightforward tale of espionage for a space-based adventure. Meanwhile, The Spy Who Loved Me changed the worst Bond book into one of the best 007 movies.

As a result, there are whole stories that have yet to make it onto the big screen, meaning Bond 26 has plenty to choose from. Additionally, even hardcore fans would struggle to argue that every James Bond movie is a classic. For every Goldfinger, there’s a Man With the Golden Gun and for every The Spy Who Loved Me, there’s a Die Another Day. As such, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing if some of the weaker 007 movies were remade for modern audiences, and Bond 26 could be where it starts.

Audiences Would Be Excited To See Another Bond Remake (And No Time To Die Proves It)

There’s Certainly An Appetite For The Series To Return To Familiar Ground

The idea of remaking a classic James Bond movie would be radical or even blasphemous to some. Nevertheless, the most recent entry in the series proves that there’s already an appetite for this approach. In the build-up to No Time To Die‘s release, many believed that Daniel Craig’s final outing would be something of a stealth remake of Dr. No. Indeed, aspects of the movie, such as the characterization of Rami Malek’s villain, the climactic island setting, and details in the opening titles, suggest that the film was meant to have a stronger Dr. No connection at some point.

While No Time To Die‘s status as a remake proved not to be true, the excitement about the possibility of the film sharing a Dr. No connection was palpable. In fact, it’s fair to say that many were disappointed to discover that the Daniel Craig movie didn’t share more in common with the original 1962 film. It appears, therefore, that there’s a desire for future Bond movies to return to classic stories. With that in mind, the idea of Bond 26 being a remake shouldn’t be too wild a notion.

On the other hand, while Ian Fleming created Bond, he’s not the only author to pen a 007 novel. Since Fleming’s death, several writers, such as John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, and Anthony Horowitz, have all turned their hand to writing James Bond continuation novels. Despite the wealth of material available, none of these books have ever been adapted or even partially adapted for film. If Bond 26 doesn’t look to Fleming’s novels or the classic movies for inspiration, it needs to look to the continuation novels.

Sources: The Numbers, Rotten Tomatoes