Summary

• Timothy Dalton's tenure as James Bond was cut short due to a complicated legal dispute between the rights holders of the franchise.
• Dalton revealed that he had initially signed a three-film contract, and a third movie was in the works, but it was scrapped because of the lawsuits.
• Dalton declined the opportunity to return as Bond in another movie when he was asked to sign a longer contract, leading to Pierce Brosnan taking on the role.

Numerous actors have played James Bond since Sean Connery first took on the role of the MI6 agent in the 1962 film Dr. No, including Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, and Timothy Dalton. However, unlike most of his fellow James Bond performers who starred in multiple movies, Dalton had a short tenure as the British character and only played him in two films. Brosnan took over following Dalton's second and final outing as James Bond. Many years after his last James Bond performance, Dalton opened up about why his time as the notorious MI6 agent was cut short.

Moore passed on the role of James Bond to Dalton following the former's appearance in A View to Kill in 1985. Dalton's first movie as 007 was The Living Daylights, which premiered in 1987. The actor reprised the role a couple of years later in the 1989 film License to Kill. Although he did not know it at the time, License to Kill would be Dalton's final performance as James Bond.

Timothy Dalton Left James Bond Due To Legal Issues

During an interview with The Week in 2015, Timothy Dalton shared the behind-the-scenes story of why he parted from the James Bond franchise after only two movies. He revealed he had initially signed a three-film contract, and a third movie starring Dalton as the MI6 agent was in the works following License to Kill in 1989, but the project was scrapped because of numerous lawsuits. A complicated legal dispute between the companies who owned the rights to James Bond and the distributing rights to the movies ensued, leading to Dalton's third film being tossed in the garbage. The actor said:

"Because of the lawsuit, I was free of the contract. And [producer] Mr. Broccoli, who I really respected as a producer and as a friend, asked me what I was going to do when it was resolved. I said, 'Look, in all honesty, I don't think that I will continue.' He asked me for my support during that time, which of course, I gave him."

Following the resolution of the lawsuits, Dalton was approached about returning as James Bond in another movie. The actor's one condition was that he would only sign on for one film, which wasn't what the production company wanted. If Dalton reprised the role, he would have to sign a "four or five" movie contract. So, he declined, and Pierce Brosnan was hired to be the next James Bond.

What We Know About Timothy Dalton's Planned Third Movie

According to Timothy Dalton, pre-production on his third James Bond film was far along by the time the lawsuits sent it into development hell. A script had been completed, and the next stage in the process was hiring a director. They had just begun interviewing potential directors when the legal dispute put an end to the project. Unfortunately, the world will never know what the James Bond franchise would look like had Dalton been able to complete his three-film contract.

Source: The Week