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There are few franchises within the historical past of cinema that may rival that of “James Bond.” Created by creator Ian Fleming, the spy referred to as 007 made himself recognized to the world due to Sean Connery’s portrayal in 1962’s smash hit “Dr. No.” Ever since, even after Connery’s tenure ended, Bond has been a staple of the silver display screen.
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Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh (“All the things All over the place All at As soon as,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) made her mark on the collection along with her position as Wai Lin in 1997’s “Tomorrow By no means Dies.” Yeoh was the principle Bond woman in Pierce Brosnan’s second entry as Bond, following within the footsteps of “GoldenEye,” which efficiently revived the collection after an extended absence. Yeoh, it seems, may have returned as soon as extra in Brosnan’s remaining “Bond” film as nicely, specifically 2002’s “Die One other Day.” So, what occurred? Why did not Yeoh return?
“I used to be requested one time to return again to do a cameo,” Yeoh defined to Radio Instances in January 2025. “However sadly, I used to be filming, I used to be producing my very own film … Typically life throws robust decisions at you.”
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She did not specify which film, however Yeoh’s first producing credit score got here on 2002’s “The Contact,” which occurred to be the identical 12 months “Die One other Day” was launched. In 2024, that film’s director, Lee Tamahori, defined what occurred from his aspect of the desk in an interview with CinemaBlend.
“Plenty of modifications went on, however sure, Michelle Yeoh was supposed to return again into the image, and in a not substantial half, however for the Hong Kong sequence. And we went out to see her, we went out to have a gathering along with her in Hong Kong, and he or she turned it down. She did not wanna play a small half … ‘After Crouching Tiger (Hidden Dragon)’ and all that, she had moved on in stature.”
Michelle Yeoh dodged a bullet by passing on Die One other Day
Certainly, director Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was not solely a massively influential martial arts movie, however an enormous hit at that. It catapulted Yeoh to a unique degree of stardom and a cameo, even when it was in a “James Bond” film, was in all probability far much less interesting to her than it may need been even simply a few years earlier.
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“Tomorrow By no means Dies” was a success, taking in $339 million on the field workplace. Even when it wasn’t as large of a success as “GoldenEye,” it was greater than sufficient to maintain the franchise alive. The identical cannot essentially be mentioned for “Die One other Day,” oft-cited as one of many worst “James Bond” films ever made. It was additionally sufficient for the producers to maneuver on from Brosnan. They as a substitute opted to reboot the collection with Daniel Craig, who headlined 2005’s “On line casino Royale,” usually thought of one of many highest entries within the collection. Craig starred in 5 films as 007 in complete, culminating in 2021’s “No Time to Die.”
Halle Berry’s Jinx had been eyed to guide a potential spin-off after her look in “Die One other Day,” however that concept was killed in no small half because of the movie’s very poor reception. In the meantime, Yeoh went on to star in enormous hits resembling “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” and “Loopy Wealthy Asians,” amongst many different tasks. She could nicely have dodged a bullet by passing on this one.
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You may seize “James Bond: The Pierce Brosnan Assortment” on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.
