Q&A: New ‘James Bond’ Book Explores “Lost” And Unmade Projects Of The 007 Mythos

With No Time to Die postponed to April 2021, there sadly won’t be any new James Bond films released in theaters this year. While it’s a sad reality for 007 fans the world over, that doesn’t mean they can’t get their spy-fi fix somewhere else.

Later this week, veritable Bond historian Mark Edlitz will publish The Lost Adventures of James Bond, a new book that explores the unmade, forgotten, and more obscure corners of the long-running franchise. For this undertaking, Edlitz (the man behind last year’s The Many Lives of James Bond) tracked down movies that were never produced; little-known comic book storylines; “Choose Your Own Adventure”-type novels in which James could be killed off; and James Bond Jr., an animated series about Bond’s nephew that ran for a short time in the early ‘90s.

The Lost Adventures of James Bond: Timothy Dalton’s Third and Fourth Bond Films, James Bond Jr., and Other Unmade or Forgotten 007 Projects has more in common with an archaeological dig than it does with your average history book. As we eagerly await for Daniel Craig to wrap up his series tenure as Britain’s most famous secret agent, Mr. Edlitz was kind enough to chat with me and break down his approach for uncovering the most interesting bits of James Bond arcana…

Was this book always in the works, or were you inspired to write it during the process for The Many Lives of James Bond?

I didn’t set out to write two books on James Bond, I figured one would be enough. But when I was putting The Many Lives of James Bond together, I realized that I had written about two separate and distinct topics about the James Bond franchise. Each one was worthy of its own book. Topic 1 was interviews with actors who played Bond and Topic 2 was about 007’s “lost” adventures.

So Topic 1 became my first book. That book consists of interviews with actors who have played James Bond in different media. But it’s not necessarily the Bonds that you’re thinking of. Sure, there were interviews with movie Bonds (like Roger Moore and George Lazenby), but I also interviewed actors who played Bond on television, video games, and radio dramas. I even tracked down the performer who played the dancing 007 from the Oscars.  

But that’s not all. The Many Lives of James Bond also looks at how the Bond creators have interpreted the character in different media. I talked to Bond directors, screenwriters, novelists, and other artists about their work. The goal was to understand who James Bond is, and what makes him tick.

Once I finished that book, I realized I had a wealth of information about a completely different subject: “lost” James Bond adventures. Once I got that in my head, I kept on writing and researching the subject. With both books, I had to ask myself, “Has this topic been covered elsewhere?”

In both cases, the answer was ‘no.’ I wrote the books that I wanted to read.  

What to you defines a piece of “lost” Bond history?

A piece of “lost” Bond history is a Bond project that was unmade; forgotten; or out-of-print and no longer available to fans. For instance, in The Lost Adventures of James Bond, I look at what could have been Dalton’s third and fourth Bond movies. I spoke to John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) about his unused ideas for The Spy Who Loved Me and Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II) about his ideas for Tomorrow Never Dies. I also dive into the un-produced Casino Royale stage play; the James Bond Jr. cartoon about 007’s nephew; and dig up the story behind Sean Connery’s unseen performance as 007.

Timothy Dalton is actually my favorite out of all the Bonds. What would his third and fourth Bond movies have entailed? 

I’m a huge Timothy Dalton fan and I always wanted to know what his third Bond film would have been like. It’s been a bit of an obsession … Bond fans have always been curious about the tone, style, story, and overall approach to it. They often ask if it would it have been serious and hard-edged like License to Kill, or if would have returned Bond to its lighter, Roger Moore-era roots. I located two different storylines with two very different approaches that help answer that question.

I also found the script that could have been Dalton’s fourth Bond movie. I was surprised to learn that a fourth Dalton film was even on the table and that the filmmakers had started to develop a screenplay for it.

What surprised you the most about the obscure corners of Bond history while putting this book together?

The James Bond universe is greater than many fans might think. Even if they have seen all the movies and devoured all of Ian Fleming’s books, there is much more to discover about 007 … I was constantly surprised. 

I found out a lot of fun information about unused ideas for Moonraker and Tomorrow Never Dies. I learned that they considered doing a spin-off movie about a villain from the Pierce Brosnan era. This is not the Jinx movie about Halle Berry’s character; it would have been a different film about a different character.

The wealth of material about “lost” Bond comics is also staggering. I investigate the secret history of the illustrated Bond. Comic historian Alan J. Porter points out that there are more Bond stories in comic book format than in all other mediums combined.

Zig Zag produced 59 Bond comics. Some are original adaptations of Fleming’s novels, including The Spy Who Loved Me, which is more faithful [to the source material] than the movie. But there were also many originals, including a story where Bond faces off with a Bigfoot creature! In another comic, 007 meets up with a bunch of flower children who strip him down and bathe with him. The comics might not appeal to Bond purists, but those rare comics are a lot of fun.

What will die-hard 007 fans get out of this book? What will more casual fans get out of it?

I hope casual Bond fans discover a wealth of incredible forgotten Bond material. I think hardcore fans will have a lot of their long-standing questions about the franchise answered. For instance, R.D. Mascott is credited as the writer of 003 ½: The Adventures of James Bond Jr., a book about Bond’s nephew. However, Mascott is not the author’s real name. It’s actually a pseudonym. What’s noteworthy, is that the book was the first Bond book published after Ian Fleming’s death, yet, few people know who wrote it. I did some detective work and broke the case. I solved a literary mystery!

I also wrote about James Bond Jr., the animated series about Bond’s nephew. The Bond producers created this animated cartoon that drew upon a lot of the Bond legacy and the films. There were also toys lines, novelizations, and comic books. The show isn’t well-regarded in the Bond fan community. However, the Bond producers put a lot of effort and energy into it. I wanted to find out everything I could about it. Of course, Bond isn’t a character for children, [but] they wanted to take elements of this character for adults and translate it into a children’s show. James Bond Jr. is still not available via DVD, Blu-ray, or any streaming services.  

When you first got in touch about this book, I like how you jokingly mentioned that No Time to Die is sort of a “lost” Bond movie at this point in time.

I don’t really consider No Time to Die to be a “lost” Bond film. It’s merely a Bond film that hasn’t been released yet. But the situation underlines how financial realities and the marketplace influence what art gets made and what stories remain available to the public. Often, these Bond books, comics, and video games go out of circulation and are not easily accessible.

For instance, there are four Bond books were written in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” format. They were called Find Your Fate. They were written to promote Roger Moore’s A View to a Kill and not all Bond fans know a lot about them because they are out of print. But they are fascinating and R.L. Stine, the creator of Goosebumps, wrote one of them. They are also noteworthy because Bond “dies” in different versions of the branching storylines.

Similarly, there are Bond comics whose storylines were [cut] short because of all sorts of publishing problems. So no one knows how the stories would have ended. I tracked down some of the creators and found out.  

One last example: the Bond producers created a mini-Bond movie for a theme park attraction. When the ride shut down, the mini-movie became “lost.” Before the attraction started, there was another short film. It was written by three-time Bond writer Bruce Feirstein and it starred Desmond Llewelyn as Q and Judi Dench as M. I spoke to the director of the ride, and he gave me some great behind-the-scenes photos of it. 

Anything to add?

The character of James Bond is bigger than the movies and even the novels. He’s a character that has been interpreted in so many ways. I hope fans agree that The Lost Adventures of James Bond sheds new light on the franchise. Someone described the work I do as being the Indiana Jones of the James Bond universe. My goal is to be tenacious and uncover all these wonderful “lost” artifacts and share them with the fans. If you’re a die-hard Bond fan or just a casual one, I hope you enjoy the book.