British comedy veteran John Cleese appeared in two James Bond movies, prompting some viewers to wonder why the actor never showed up in Daniel Craig’s 007 debut Casino Royale. The Bond series has been through various eras over the decades, but there are a few elements of the franchise that remain relatively consistent. Bond has a beautiful love interest in every movie, the suave super-spy is always seen driving fast cars (and frequently trashing them in high-speed chases), and he can always rely on his MI6 boss, M. However, his other colleagues have been less consistent throughout the years.
Miss Moneypenny and Q don’t appear in every James Bond movie, much like 007’s American friend Felix Leiter. Not only that but when they do appear, they are often recast. For decades, both Q and Miss Moneypenny were played by the same actors consistently, but Lois Maxwell’s iconic original Moneypenny was replaced by Caroline Bliss in Timothy Dalton’s second 007 outing. Q, meanwhile, was portrayed by Desmond Llewellyn until his death in 1999 when he was briefly replaced by Monty Python member John Cleese. Cleese was a high-profile replacement and even got a soft launch, making his short tenure and Casino Royale absence a surprise.
Casino Royale Didn’t Need Q (Because It Didn’t Have Gadgets)
The reason that Cleese only appeared in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough (as Q’s assistant) and 2002’s Die Another Day (as the new Q) was that Pierce Brosnan left the role of 007 and the entire tone of the James Bond franchise changed as a result. Q was cut completely from 2006’s Casino Royale, prompting Cleese to claim that he was never even called about the change by Bond's producers. The popularity of the Jason Bourne franchise left viewers looking for a darker, grittier type of spy thriller post-9/11, so it makes sense that Q’s campy ing role was excluded from Craig’s debut.
Casino Royale worked hard to make viewers take James Bond seriously again after both Brosnan’s smirking charm and the popularity of the Austin Powers franchise changed the character’s reputation. This attempt was largely successful, with Craig’s Bond debut earning stellar reviews. However, after Craig’s second movie Quantum of Solace took itself a little too seriously, the series took a step toward its campier origins with 2012’s Skyfall. While hardly a broad comedy, Skyfall did reinstate some of the Bond franchise’s more cartoony elements, including introducing a new version of Q played by Ben Whishaw.
John Cleese’s M Wouldn’t Work With Daniel Craig’s 007
Llewellyn’s Q was always intended to be a comic relief character. Like every version of Bond’s Q, he gave the spy outlandish trinkets that always acted as a convenient deus ex machina during a pivotal plot point. Cleese played an even more broadly comic version of this already comedic character, an approach that went well with Brosnan’s winking self-awareness. This would have been out of place in the grittier, less campy Casino Royale, where Craig played Bond as a brooding, self-serious figure. Since Casino Royale’s tone was too dark for a Q cameo, the James Bond series was right to cut the character's role for a few movies.
