Around the time he was making the second installment in his Spider-Man movie trilogy, Tom Holland had the chance to pitch a James Bond movie idea to Sony, and although it was rejected at the time, the 007 franchise’s new situation means Holland’s idea could be revisited. After decades under the watchful eye of the Broccoli family, Barbara Broccoli has surrendered creative control of the Bond movies to Amazon MGM, which means the series is very likely to undergo some notable changes. For example, I expect a wider variety of James Bond movies and possibly even TV shows to materialize.

The ownership rights of the James Bond franchise had long been the same since 007’s big-screen debut with 1962’s Dr. No. As such, every actor to play Bond has been signed off on by either Barbara Broccoli, or her late father, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli. Holland has already tried and failed to get himself added to the list of Bond actors, and under the Broccolis’ leadership, this probably would have remained the final say. However, Holland’s idea could be reappraised by Amazon MGM and I can definitely imagine a day soon where something similar to Holland’s pitch is rolled out.

Amazon MGM’s James Bond Takeover Makes Tom Holland’s Young Bond Idea More Likely To Happen

The franchise’s new creative bosses may be more willing to create more kinds of 007 content

Speaking with Variety, Tom Holland discussed his meeting with Sony, which took place around 2019, where he pitched the idea of a James Bond origin story, presumably with himself as the prospective lead actor. Holland himself admits that the pitch was little more than “the dream of a young kid,” and that it, “didn’t really make sense.” Despite being nothing like something the franchise had attempted before, Barbara Broccoli seemingly shared the same opinion that Holland has since arrived at, and decided to reject the actor’s pitch.

Broccoli had long been protective of the franchise, so she only tended to give the green light to Bond projects she truly thought would thrive. Over half a decade later, and decisions like this no longer rest with her, but with Amazon MGM instead. Now that Broccoli isn’t overseeing the franchise and keeping installments to a minimum, I would be very surprised if the new bosses didn’t want to make far more use of their newly-acquired IP. So, spinoffs and origin stories like Holland’s idea are more likely to be considered and put into active production.

Holland Is Less Likely Than He Was To Play A Young Bond Now

A James Bond origin story would probably need an even younger actor than Tom Holland

When Holland had his eyes on a starring role in a James Bond movie, he was in his early twenties, but had often played characters even younger in other movies. So, he would have been a perfect candidate to play a young Bond if Sony had approved his pitch. Because so much time has pᴀssed since he had his meeting with Sony, Holland has arguably aged out of contention to snag such a role, as he approaches his 30th birthday. Of course, he is still very youthful-looking, but I suppose it would depend on Amazon MGM’s desired direction.

Currently, Sean Connery is still the youngest Bond actor, as he was 32 in his first 007 movie, Dr. No. In Connery’s debut, his version of Bond is already an experienced 00 agent, so introducing an actor like Holland who is so close in age to Connery wouldn’t make a lot of sense. For the project to be worth making, I would say an even younger Bond would need to be shown, which would incorporate his military service. Because of how young Bond was during these years, Holland would probably be unsuitable to star in what was once his idea.

Tom Holland’s Young James Bond Pitch Wasn’t A Complete Failure

2022’s Uncharted happened because of Holland’s Bond idea

Even though Broccoli didn’t care for Tom Holland’s idea, Sony liked the thought of an origin story for one of the studio’s characters. So, once Broccoli said no to Young Bond, Sony suggested that Holland be the star of a project that would become 2022’s Uncharted, which is based on a series of PlayStation games of the same name. The movie was a box office smash, taking over $407 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo) on a budget of $120 million. As he would have done in his desired Bond movie, Holland played a younger version of Uncharted‘s protagonist, Nathan Drake.

Despite criticisms from Uncharted‘s pre-established fan base for the huge changes made to the source material, a second movie was commissioned due to the financial success of the first. Holland is returning as Drake in Uncharted 2, along with his co-star from the first movie, Mark Wahlberg. The first movie’s post-credit scene left viewers with the impression that the sequel will fix the age disparity between Holland’s Drake and the original character, as well as the one that existed between Wahlberg and his digital counterpart. So, at least Tom Holland got something out of his James Bond pitch.

Source: Variety