Judi Dench says Daniel Craig proposed killing off her character, M, in Skyfall, according to her new memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It? The revelation adds to Craig’s reputation for pushing the James Bond films toward major changes, including his wish for 007 to die at the end of his tenure.
Dench writes that Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and director Sam Mendes invited her to the Wolseley restaurant and explained that M would be killed off. She says press reports that she cried upon hearing the news were wrong: after 20 years and eight Bond films, she was not upset. Dench adds that she was told the decision had been Craig’s idea.
Craig had previously described wanting Bond’s story to end with the character’s death. Dench’s account suggests that he had also advocated for the death of M, whom she played across eight films.
The decision became part of the Craig era’s willingness to make lasting changes to the franchise’s central characters. Dench’s memoir offers a new detail about how one of those choices was made, while leaving the next Bond film’s approach to the character’s legacy unknown.
Sources: The Guardian Film.