Licence Renewed: Bond 23 To Revisit the Drugs Trade?

Reports have emerged that the next Bond film, Daniel Craig’s third adventure and number 23 in the official EON series, may possibly feature the drugs trade as a key element in its plot.

According to the British ‘Guardian’ newspaper (9 th June), EON scriptwriters sought technical advice from the British Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, in Summer 2008 concerning the contemporary drugs trade. The newspaper has speculated that some of Bond 23’s proposed plot may have links to “the volatile southern province of Afghanistan”, since a member of the British Foreign Office’s drug-busting team in the country acted briefly as a consultant for the film-makers. The official concerned, who has since left the employ of the Foreign Office, apparently signed a confidentiality agreement with EON preventing any discussion of the nature of the advice being sought.

If true (and it is worth remembering that EON now have a number of other non-Bond projects in play as well), it will continue a bit of tradition that has developed in the fictional world of Bond over the years. The drugs trade has featured prominently in the film series before, notably in Roger Moore’s first Bond outing ‘Live and Let Die’ (where 007 wrecked Mr. Big’s valuable poppy fields), and in Timothy Dalton’s two movies, ‘The Living Daylights’ (where Bond found himself in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation), and ‘Licence To Kill’ (the climax of which saw the secret agent destroy the villain’s liquid-borne drugs that were being transported in heavy trucks).

Interestingly, the latest Bond novel, ‘Devil May Care’, by Sebastian Faulks, which has recently re-entered the bestsellers lists in paperback form, also has a drugs theme concerning the opium trade in 1960s Persia (now Iran).

It perhaps worth remembering that Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, had a life-long interest in the narcotics and diamonds smuggling techniques used around the world and, using his extensive journalistic knowledge, drew upon the narcotics trade for some of his 007 plots, such as ‘Live and Let Die’, ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Risico’ (a short-story contained in ‘For Your Eyes Only’), and ‘Thunderball’. In the twilight months of his life, the 007 author was also connected to a special anti-drugs film commissioned by the United Nations, entitled ‘The Poppy Is Also  A Flower’. The UN hoped this would be a kind of popular and educational docu-drama, but it actually became a feature film with some major stars, such as Yul Brynner and Trevor Howard.

This intriguing project, which was helmed by Bond director Terence Young, debuted on American television in April, 1966, and had a limited theatrical release in some European countries. It was re-titled ‘Danger Grows Wild’ and released for the UK and Australian markets in 1967, and the Bond/Fleming connections featured heavily in marketing publicity for the film (Bond-mania was at its height after the smash-success of Sean Connery’s Bond films ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Thunderball’).

Despite regular UN campaigns over the years, the contemporary drugs trade remains a major cause for concern, and the British government itself has had an active policy of trying to destroy the numerous poppy fields and general drugs trade in present-day Afghanistan, as there is strong evidence that large sums of the money made from this has been used to finance terrorist groups. It is easy to see why the Bond script-writers may be toying with having 007 re-visit this ongoing problem.

Michael G. Wilson recently confirmed that preliminary work had started on Bond 23, but EON has declined to comment on the new ‘Guardian’ report.