The James Bond series has had its fair share of whispers hinting at what could have been, but one of the most compelling was the potential return of Quantum of Solace star Olga Kurylenko in 2012’s Skyfall. For a while, that possibility has sat on the internet, unchallenged in its veracity. But after asking producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, they can confirm that they’d never even considered bringing Camille Montes back to the 007 fold.
Here’s how this story got started: according to the Wikipedia entry for Camille Montes, there were plans for her to return in Sam Mendes’ Skyfall. This was cited as originating from a radio interview that producer Barbara Broccoli had done in 2008 for Heart 106.2. But when I got the chance to ask both Barbara and her co-producer/half-brother Michael G. Wilson about whether this was true or not, as part of our recent interview, Ms. Broccoli responded with this rebuttal:
Broccoli: There’s always rumors about things. … She was terrific in Quantum of Solace, but we didn’t plan to bring her back.
As one of the women who would help continue the evolution of the Bond woman in the Daniel Craig era, Olga Kurylekno’s Camille would have easily fit on the list of other James Bond characters we know were supposed to return. It’s an intriguing possibility, as James and Camille leave things rather open ended when they say goodbye. However, looking at how Skyfall’s story played out in the long run, there doesn’t look to be much room for Kurylenko’s character to return.
Hypothetically, Camille Montes could have taken the place of Bond woman Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe). As she and James ended Quantum of Solace with a conversation about how Dominic Greene’s (Mathieu Amalric) evil organization still had some loose ends, Camille could have continued her quest to undo his wrongs. But, this would have ruined the ending of Quantum, leaving the two as respectfully platonic friends, and ultimately would have seen Silva (Javier Bardem) kill her in his post-flirting marksmanship contest with 007 in Skyfall.
The more that I think about this Skyfall rumor, the more that I think it wouldn't have fit into the scheme of the Daniel Craig era. It's just one of many rumors that surround the legacy of James Bond’s past, present and future that could have went either way. Now one more supposed truth of the franchise has been officially debunked by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson themselves. Given enough time, who knows what other questions or concerns could be straightened out for the record? Maybe when it comes time to talk Bond 26, that very opportunity will come up yet again.
For now though, it’s time to do what Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have been doing; which is celebrate the release of No Time To Die. If the film isn’t available in your local market just yet, it will probably hit a theater near you in the not-too-distant future. And if you want to see Skyfall again, but don’t happen to own a copy, then you can stream the film at the time of this writing on Paramount+.
