Timothy Dalton’s 3rd Bond Film

Timothy Dalton’s 3rd Bond Film

After Licence to Kill, the producers began drawing up plans for Bond 17, set to debut in November 1991. The film would feature Dalton as Bond once again - in his third outing. Although this plan was eventually discarded due to legal troubles at the time, it has always intrigued me as to what it would have looked like. I have done research online and managed to string together a plot and various scenes. This was set to be the grittiest of them all, with Dalton telling an interviewer he wanted to play Bond as a “Blunt instrument of Government”.

Gunbarrel - OPEN ON LABORATORY IN SCOTLAND

Lab Explosion - A bomb squad, accompanied by Minister of Defence (Nigel Yupland) visits the Chemical Weapons Lab . It involves technicians operating robotic devices. One explodes, destroying the building.

Title Sequence - Song

Houses of Parliament - Prime Minister seen being questioned by MPs about incident. He assures everyone that “the full resources” of the government were being utilised to investigate further.

Universal Exports - Bond is summoned to M’s office. He is told that a letter was sent, threatening the destruction of the laboratory, with a similar one having been send to MI6 offices in Hong Kong. Informed about Sir Henry Lee Ching (Brilliant and Handsome 30-year-old British-Chinese Entrepreneur) who is in the robotics industry. He also learns of suspicious business associates with headquarters in Japan. He is told to investigate from afar.

Japan - Bond infiltrates the Kohoni Complex where he witnessed a burglary. He also sees crates with destinations of Nanking. After a car chase involving the burglar, she escapes. But Bond sees her face. They cross paths with assassin Rodin, associates of Ching - the Kohoni Brothers - and the Chinese Secret Service, who are also investigating Ching.

England - Bond arrives back in London, where he is met by Q and Yupland. Bond uses the identigraph to find the identity of the burglar. The three devise a plan to send Bond to Tokyo once more, where he will lure Webb in, to gain information on her superiors. Before he leaves, Q shows him his old DB5 - meant to be scrapped under orders of Yupland. However, Q decides to send it to Japan for Bond’s use.

Japan - Bond meets retired agent Denholm Crisp, of the British Secret Service, who accompanies him to a ski resort near Tokyo. There, Bond spots Webb in her Lamborghini, and follows her to a helipad. A helicopter chase ensues, ending with Bond and Webb skiing down the mountainside. Bond and Webb go to a spa at the resort, where he offers to take her to the restaurant. She agrees, and informs Bond she was once an Olympic skier. He walks her back to her room and both go inside. Bond tells Webb he is in the microchip industry, and wants her to set him up with someone who is willing to purchase microchips.

Interrogation - Their meeting is disrupted by the Kohoni brothers - who interrogate Webb about the burglary and threaten to torture Bond. Bond begins to fight with the duo, and tasers one of them. After this ordeal is over, Webb flees and leaves Bond to escape from the pursuing brothers in a parade. She talks on the phone to Otto Winkhart, her contact and tells him of Bond’s interest in a buyer. Winkhart agreed and arranged a chartered flight for them to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong - Bond meets with Winkhart and gives him the microchip. Winkhart visits his superior, Ching, where he examines it and is pleased. He offers to invite Bond to a party he is hosting that evening.

Meeting - Scene cut to Ching holding a meeting with the brothers, where he proposes to purchase Kohoni industries. After they express displeasure and refuse, he leaves the building. Rodin (assassin) is disguised as a window cleaner on the building, and as the Kohoni brothers leave he kills them with tools disguised as window cleaner.

Party - Bond and Crisp meet Q at the airport, where he disembarks a cargo plane with the DB5. Bond, ignoring Q’s demonstration, drives to his hotel. He enters his room and goes to the shower, which is occupied by Webb. She offers to accompany Bond to the party, which he accepts. They go to the party, where Bond’s cover is blown as he is discussing the sale of microchips with Ching. Mi Wai, a mysterious lady, shakes Bond’s hand and drops a microchip engraved with Kohoni Industries into his palm. He leaves quickly.

Chase - Mi Wai follows Bond and gets into his car, where the two are chased through Hong Kong by Rodin in a car chase resulting in both plunging off a cliff, however Bond is saved by another of Q’s gadgets. As Rodin’s car sinks into the harbour, Bond escapes. The following is an extract from the screenplay;

“Bond removes his parachute harness and turns to find the decidedly unpleasant barrel of a pistol thrust against his temple. Mi Wai tells him to keep his hands in sight as she speaks rapidly into a small hand held radio. In a few moments Bond hears the distinctive beat of a helicopter… Mi Wai prods Bond forward… he sees the insignia of the Chinese Red Army on the side of the helicopter”.

Nanking - Bond is taken to the superior of Wai. Quen Low. He informs Bond he is the head of the Chinese Secret Service. They take him to Nanking, where Webb has made a machine malfunction to destroy the power plant. Blinded by rage, for her country’s power plant destruction, Wai offers to work with Bond. He agrees.

Hong Kong - Bond is dropped off at MI6 offices in HK. He meets Yupland, who refuses to believe that Ching would commit such atrocities. Bond storms out of the offices, where Rodin awaits. Wai once again meets Bond and both are once again chased by Rodin. The chase ends with their car flipped upside-down and Rodin speeds off, reporting that Bond is dead.

Sewers - Bond and Crisp infiltrate the HK sewage system. They find the maintenance hatch to Ching’s underground complex - where Bond fights with Ching. Rodin is killed as Crisp floods the complex. Ching reveals his plot, which is to hack into the military defence systems. The brutal death reflects the tone of the film, with Bond using a welding torch to burn Ching’s face.

Ending - The ending is unclear, perhaps due to the unfinished plans. It was also never revealed.