Pierce Brosnan reunites with the Aston Martin Vanquish
James Bond star drove the car during his final outing in Die Another Day
Amazon recently announced it had purchased the creative rights for the James Bond franchise from Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for an estimated £770 million. Some saw it as the death of 007 (again), while others saw it in a more positive light, with the news hopefully leading to more movement on the next instalment of the series.
I have to say, I fall into the latter camp. The final two films of Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond weren’t exactly cheerful or too popular with die-hard Bond fans like me. If anything, it made me realise how much I enjoyed Pierce Brosnan’s period in the role, which perfectly balanced action and comic to great effect.
So imagine my joy when Aston Martin posted pictures on its Instagram of Pierce Brosnan at its Gaydon HQ being reunited with the Vanquish he drove in his final appearance as 007 over 20 years ago. Yes, Die Another Day was panned at the time and ultimately led to the James Bond franchise going in a more ‘serious’ direction, but if you go back and watch it, I promise it’s not all terrible. There are definitely glimpses of classic Bond.
Could Pierce Brosnan return as Bond?
Amazon’s purchase of the creative rights to Bond has opened the door to several possibilities thought not to be possible under Eon productions. One of these suggestions - fuelled mainly by fan gossip - is an ‘old Bond’ film, seeing a previous actor from the franchise return to the role.
Images of Pierce Brosnan back alongside his Aston Martin, looking more suave than ever, have naturally poured fuel on the dimly lit flame of possibility. Could it happen? Probably not, although Brosnan did give his opinion that the next James Bond actor should be British, which I absolutely agree with.
Aston Martin Vanquish in Die Another Day
While James Bond is more synonymously associated with the DB5, the Vanquish represented the first new Aston Martin given to 007 since the V8 Vantage featured in The Living Daylights. Brosnan was taken to the Aston Martin factory before filming to see and test drive the car, later having one personally built for him as part of his contract for the film.
The Vanquish in Die Another Day featured more gadgets than ever before, including the ability to turn invisible, which the majority of fans thought was a step too far. Seven Vanquish models were used during filming, four for exterior shots and three for interior shooting, with the cars being made four-wheel drive to cope with the challenges of the chase scene across a frozen lake in Iceland. The car was also fitted with roll cages, while the engine was fitted to the rear of the chassis to accommodate guns and missiles behind the grille.
Two of the Aston Martin Vanquishes used for filming sold at auction for over £100,000. Tragically, Brosnan’s own Aston Martin Vanquish was destroyed in a fire in the garage of his Malibu home in 2015.
Read: Aston Martin DB5 - The Cars of James Bond here.
words: Mike Booth
pictures: Aston Martin