With James Bond being infamous for being a womanizer, it’s not often that many Bond girls may make multiple appearances within a franchise. Daniel Craig’s era had roughly six to eight Bond girls, while Sean Connery’s is listed as around five or six. Pierce Brosnan became the fifth actor to play 007 and has played the character in four films, from 1995’s GoldenEye to 2002’s Die Another Day. During that time, he has been entangled with several love interests.

Izabella Scorupco made her Hollywood debut in the 1995 James Bond movie as a Russian programmer, Natalya Simonova, up against the fierce compeтιтion from Famke Janssen’s villainess ᴀssᴀssin, Xenia Onatopp. In Brosnan’s second movie, he was tasked to investigate a media baron and, in the process, seclude his wife and Bond’s ex, Paris (Teri Hatcher). He teamed up with Michelle Yeoh’s Chinese security agent, Colonel Wai Lin, and sparked a potential romance. Following the pattern, four actors then played Bond girls in The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.

Michelle Yeoh Reveals Why She Didn’t Return For Die Another Day

She Was Offered The Opportunity

Former Bond Girl Yeoh explains why she didn’t return to the franchise despite being offered a cameo. The 2002 James Bond film, Die Another Day, sees Bond facing a prison sentence after being captured by a North Korean agent. Convinced that someone in his agency has betrayed him, Bond escapes to find out the truth. Rosamund Pike starred in her breakthrough role as Bond girl and double agent, Miranda Frost, while Halle Berry’s Jinx Johnson is the NSA agent Bond can truly trust.

In an interview with RadioTimes.com, Yeoh explained her absence in Die Another Day. The star revealed that she was supposed to return as “a cameo” in Brosnan’s last outing as the lethal secret agent, but her commitment to other projects made it impossible. In 2002, Yeoh produced her first English film, The Touch, under her own production company, Mythical Films. Check out what she said below:

I was asked one time, to come back to do a cameo. But unfortunately I was filming, I was producing my own movie. Sometimes life throws tough choices at you.

What Yeoh’s Comment Means For Die Another Day

Yeoh Could’ve Been The Third Bond Girl To Reprise Her Role

The James Bond film series has a reputation for casting new actors as Bond girls in every film. There have only been two Bond girls who have ever reprised her role in the James Bond franchise. The first was Eunice Gayson, who portrayed Sylvia Trench in Dr. No and From Russia With Love. The second was Lea Seydoux, who played Madeleine Swann in both Spectre and No Time to Die, and both films are recent Bond installments. Yeoh’s comment indicated that she could’ve been the third Bond girl to return to the franchise in the franchise history.

Even though her cameo didn’t happen, it could’ve been what paved the way for Seydoux’s return in No Time to Die, a film that marked Daniel Craig’s last film as Bond. Yoeh’s comment also reveals that Die Another Day could’ve featured three Bond girls instead of two, and her cameo would no doubt stir up the romantic aspect of Bond’s arc in the film.

Source: Radio Times