Mark Gatiss wants to ‘reimagine’ James Bond

We’re game

Sherlock and Dracula writer Mark Gatiss says he wants to reimagine the James Bond films.

Speaking on an episode of Scroobius Pip’s Distraction Pieces Podcast, the 55-year-old screenwriter, director, actor and novelist was asked which iconic character he’d like to be involved with next.

Having made no secret of his affection for the franchise in the past – even appearing in an hour-long documentary talking about the history of the legendary British series – he simply replied: “It’s obviously James Bond.”

He went on to joke, “It may look like it but I’m not set on remaking everything from my childhood, it’s just the way it’s fallen”. Among his various credits across all stages of TV and film production, Gatiss has enjoyed a successful career bringing well-established, dynastic IPs back to the screen.

“The truth is it’s very hard to get things commissioned and inevitably if something has an existing ‘intellectual property’ it makes people sit up”, says Gatiss, and it’s hard to argue with him.

As he goes on to explain, “It’s really a battle between trying to get things off the ground which are less familiar and sometimes people going: ‘Well would you like to have a go at this?'”

Following the grittier Daniel Craig, Gatiss reckons they need a fresh start and to perhaps move in a lighter, more humorous direction, saying, “What they need to do is respond to the tenor of the times, which are as bleak as f***, and give use a bit of Roger Moore again.

“That doesn’t mean they have to be out-and-out silly. I think they need to be lighter – they need to find a lighter actor – and have a bit more fun with it.”

If the comic relief in the likes of Sherlock is anything to go by then this is certainly something we’d be interested in seeing. In fact, Gatiss had previously been criticised for trying to make Sherlock too much like 007 by some fans, responding in the form of a poem.

We won’t give you the full thing but here’s a snippet: