The long gaps between Bond movies can make it difficult to get a regular fix of James Bond. Fortunately, the existing movies are endlessly rewatchable, but I’ve always been intrigued by the missions we never see. The series frequently hints at prior assignments, successful partnerships, and dangerous encounters that exist only in the audience’s imagination and never see the light of day.

Although the prospect sounds like something fit for a television series, I was thinking of a collection of shorter standalone missions still in a movie format and related to each other but presented differently. Think thirty-minute missions focused on a pursuit, extraction, surveillance operation, or assassination that showcases Bond at his most efficient without the need for a drawn out, world-ending plot.

Quick, self-contained missions could be an interesting twist on the standard Bond movie format. Their standalone nature could also invite more frequent releases and a shorter scriptwriting time.