Had George Lazenby stayed


Had he stayed as Bond, I think his acting would have greatly improved and would have grown into the role, "Diamonds are Forever" wold be a lot different comparted to the original TL, Peter Hunt would be back in the director's chair and Telly Savalas would return as Blofeld, could have the same story, but would be a lot better with the revenge storyline. Also Norman Burton as Felix would be recast with David Hedison, I do think he and Lazenby would have worked well since Laz is Australian and Hedison is Armenian-American and would fit in the right age group. The rest of the cast would be the same, but the Sprangs would be included.

Lazenby would continue with LALD where he would face off against Yaphet Kotto's Kananga. Lazenby's staying on would have proved that while the spy genre ended in 60s, with no more Our Man Flint Movies, or Reckoning Crew Movies and shows like Get Smart and Man From UNCLE would be off the air, Bond would have been the only spy series still going and would be influencing other bog movies at the time. LALD would be influenced by Blaxploitation movies like "Shaft" and "The Man with the Golden Gun"was influenced by kung fu movies, which would have suited Lazenby. As for TMWTGG, it would be a better movie as it would suit Lazenby's Bond, his portrayal would be different to Bond's where he would be more a cockier character, but would have emotions, the dojo scene would even be suited for Lazenby's Bond. Also I could picture him going up against Christopher Lee. But this film would sill be a weak point and for Lazenby. I do think that in this timeline Saltzmann would still leave the franchise after selling his shares (50% stake) after making making some investments that didn't pay off. A three year hiatus still happens, Lazenby while signed to his seven picture contact wants to leave so he could do other things, but Cubby Broccoli makes a deal with Lazenby that he could get out of his contact after his fifth movie which is "The Spy Who Loved Me", which would tie in with the continuity of Connery's Bond movies and Lazenby would go out on a high. The series would be saved, he left it in an amazing space for someone new to come in.

With Lazenby gone, the search would begin for a third Bond actor, with Moonraker intended as the next, I think the names considered would be Michael Billington, Lewis Collins, Ian Ogilvy and Timothy Dalton. If Billington or Ogilvy had gotten it, either one would do four movies before Dalton comes in 1986.

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That would have been such a better set of films. And imagine Laz finally getting his revenge on Blofeld in FYEO. Then Dalton would take over after that and see it through the 80s. They'd have a lot more replay value with me.

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Wow this is actually a pretty cool timeline of events that I wish had played out as you had described.

And you're 1000% correct about The Man With The Golden Gun being a perfect vehicle for Lazenby's Bond, as he could have showcased his martial arts skill across a number of scenes in a much better fashion than Roger Moore.

Moore was certainly charming, but Lazenby possessed just enough mean streak and stoicism with his abilities that you could easily believe he would have cleaned up the guys at the dojo in believable fashion.

And yeah, For Your Eyes Only -- probably the best espionage-oriented Bond film -- would have been a completely different beast with Lazenby in it. I certainly would have been fascinated with how his revenge would have played out and how it would have affected him with recovering the device among the interplay between the different factions/organizations trying to play one another against each other?

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With Lazenby gone, the search would begin for a third Bond actor, with Moonraker intended as the next,

Moonraker wasn't intended as the next. That only occurred because of the popularity of Star Wars

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DAF would have been such an amazing revenge movie with Lazenby still playing Bond. Instead we got an aging Connery with absolutely no believable motivation. Yes, its the same Bond, but Connery isnt the same actor. They tried some sort of revenge story with DAF, but that didnt worked at all.

LALD (Shaft-based) and TMWTGG (Bruce Lee-based) would have been also better with a real action actor like Lazenby. Beside that thos 2 movies are 60s-themed (who gave a sh** about a assasin gun duel in a mid 70s movie?).

But starting with TSWLM Lazenby would have been a relict of the 60s, not fitting into the charming and ironic 70s and 80s. Noone else then Moore could play Bond from TSWLM until AVTAK.

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