Diamonds Are Forever may be the only Bond film that openly toys with the idea of Bond as a celebrity rather than merely a spy. After Tiffany Case blurts out that Bond has essentially killed “James Bond,” the conversation shifts into the meta, and they speak about him as if he’s a globally recognized figure, someone mythologized as nearly “indestructible.”

It raises questions the movie never answers and likely never intended to. Has Bond become a name that regularly circulates in headlines? Is he whispered about only within criminal and intelligence circles, or has he somehow seeped into broader public awareness?

For a brief moment, the movie winks at the legend surrounding him rather than the man himself. It’s fleeting and curious topic with no direct counterpart in any other movie.