If Disney bought the Bond franchise would a film of John Gardner's Never Send Flowers be any closer?
Silhouette Man
The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,695MI6 Agent
So, we all know that Disney's name has cropped up over the last two years or more in relation to their being an interested party in buying the James Bond franchise from Eon or at least in buying the distribution rights to the next Bond film or series of films. Obviously Disney have done a good job with growing the Star Wars franchise, so presumably they could do the same with the James Bond franchise. It might even result in a much-needed shot in the arm for the Bond films.
Many fans would likely be against the idea but to the John Gardner fan it opens up an interesting situation: if Disney did at some point buy the Bond franchise or the distribution rights would a film version of Gardner's Never Send Flowers (1993) be any closer in coming about?
As many literary Bond fans will know Never Send Flowers features the villain David Dragonpol's castle Schloss Drache which is described as looking like the castle at Disneyland and it of course features a climactic fight scene at Euro Disney in Paris (nowadays it's called Disneyland Resort, Paris of course). There would of course be the inherent problem in the story for a modern audience as the assassination target in the original 1993 novel was Princess Diana and her two sons. Presumably this could be changed to another VIP target easily enough (a politician, rock star etc.) According to Raymond Benson in his 'Gardner’s World' piece in 007 Magazine the original intention was to have a famous rock star as the target of the assassination in the Disney resort.
What do we think? Would Disney be interested in adapting such a Bond novel into a film, given its obvious links to their amusement park properties around the globe and the potential for large-scale "product placement"? To my mind, it would seem an open goal that they would be rather silly to avoid exploiting.
So, dare I ask, what do we think of such an idea?
Many fans would likely be against the idea but to the John Gardner fan it opens up an interesting situation: if Disney did at some point buy the Bond franchise or the distribution rights would a film version of Gardner's Never Send Flowers (1993) be any closer in coming about?
As many literary Bond fans will know Never Send Flowers features the villain David Dragonpol's castle Schloss Drache which is described as looking like the castle at Disneyland and it of course features a climactic fight scene at Euro Disney in Paris (nowadays it's called Disneyland Resort, Paris of course). There would of course be the inherent problem in the story for a modern audience as the assassination target in the original 1993 novel was Princess Diana and her two sons. Presumably this could be changed to another VIP target easily enough (a politician, rock star etc.) According to Raymond Benson in his 'Gardner’s World' piece in 007 Magazine the original intention was to have a famous rock star as the target of the assassination in the Disney resort.
What do we think? Would Disney be interested in adapting such a Bond novel into a film, given its obvious links to their amusement park properties around the globe and the potential for large-scale "product placement"? To my mind, it would seem an open goal that they would be rather silly to avoid exploiting.
So, dare I ask, what do we think of such an idea?
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
Sadly (as the Lord Defender of NSF on the interweb) I have to agree with you Barbel that it is very unlikely to ever happen. It's destined to be forever filed under "pipe dream" for me I guess.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Could the "Mickey Mouse" line in Spectre have been a subtle message to us all of what was to come? (I'll get my tin foil hat now).
Na, that would be quite goofy... (Please get mine, too)
Yes, I think it will remain a Fantasia forever.
So Bond might suddenly become Nick Fury's sidekick, and Q orders his gadgets from Stark labs. Too bad Han Solo is dead, because that could have been a good team-up.
on the positive side, there'll be some great merchandising. I've been amazed by all the Star Wars related ads from completely unrelated industries, including car ads and internet service providers! Like, how much does a car cost? tens of thousands of dollars, but someones going to make a decision because the ad used the Star Wars logo? I even saw a gingerbread Millennium Falcon in my grocery store this morning, and it appeared to be an official product
so what will we get for Bond? lunchboxes, bedsheets and pyjamas, what else? that BondWorld themepark we've all been dreaming about will definitely be a step closer
Don't be so sure. I might become a scriptwriter and adapt NSF. Everyone's worst nightmare!
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/what-the-disney-fox-merger-means-for-the-future-of-movies/article37324802/