Licence to kill script series#

Having seen Dalton’s darker approach to the character in action, producer Albert R. Broccoli not only wished to retain this feature, but also enhance it. With an inevitable writer’s strike approaching, production was streamlined to ensure that audiences would see James Bond one more time before the end of the decade. The majority of the film was originally intended to take place in China. Preliminary lcation scouting began and several sequences were developed, including a chase along the Great Wall of China and a scene in which Bond navigates among the Terracotta Army statues. Wilson began developing a plot that revolved around the Golden Triangle and the drug trade. However, further plans were put on hold when it was decided not to film in China. Ultimately, negotiations were made to film in Mexico. Despite this drastic change of events, it allowed the producers to retain the drug trade element of the initial story, albeit in a very different location.

Another perk of filming in Mexico was that, due to rising taxes in England, the entire production was able to be moved to Estudios Churubusco. This would mark the first time that Pinewood Studios was not used to film a Bond movie, although Moonraker had faced a similar situation when the majority of its production was moved to France. However, a handful of sequences for that film were still able to be filmed at Pinewood. This time around, Pinewood Studios was only used for sound recording after filming had completed.īuilding on the drug trade idea and drawing on inspiration from current events such as the Medellin Cartel and the heavy drug trafficking and political corruption in Panama, Michael G. Wilson and longtime Bond screenwriter Richard Maibaum developed the story for what was then called Licence Revoked.

Licence to kill script series#

While the film ultimately would not bear this title, both this working title as well as the final one marked the first time in the official series that a non-Fleming title was used. As the story progressed, the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike commenced and Maibaum was unable to contribute to the finished script. Wilson, who was not originally a screenwriter by trade, continued to work on it alone. While Ian Fleming’s original material was largely tapped out, there were many literary elements that had yet to be adapted into the film series.