According to longtime James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Judi Dench's M was originally meant to die in 2008's Quantum of Solace.
"[Killing M] was a given back when we started Quantum of Solace," Purvis revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. "And I wouldn't say it was a throwaway scene or anything [in Quantum] because it was still emotional -- but it was a very sudden thing that happened roughly in the middle or two-thirds of the way into an early draft of that story." Purvis said the team behind Quantum of Solace eventually chose to leave M's death out of the film as it required "the right amount of emotional depth that that movie just didn't seem to have the time or room for. We did write that scene, but thankfully it was cut."
Purvis did not elaborate on how M was to die in Quantum of Solace. The character famously died in Bond's arms near the end 2012's Skyfall after falling victim to Javier Bardem's Silva. Purvis and Wade concocted the idea for M's death following their first meeting with Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes.
Dench took up the mantle of the MI6's commander-in-chief in 1995's GoldenEye, which was also the debut of Pierce Brosnan's 007, appearing in a total of eight Bond films. Counting her brief appearance in 2015's Spectre, Dench has played the part of M longer than anyone else. Bernard Lee, who played the big screen's first incarnation of the character, appeared in more films (at 11), but Dench's 20-year run as M edge's out Lee's 17-year stint in the role. If Dench had been written out of the series in Quantum of Solace as initially intended, she would have fallen short of this franchise milestone.
Following Dench's departure, Ralph Fiennes' Mallory assumed the title of M. Purvis and Wade considered Fiennes' character for Skyfall's central villain in an early draft of the script before arriving at Silva. According to Purvis, Bardem's good-guy-turned-bad was inspired by Daniel Craig's desire for Bond to face off against someone of equal skill and ability.
Like Dench, Craig has held the role of Bond longer than any other actor. His five onscreen appearances trail Roger Moore (at seven) and Sean Connery (at six, excluding the non-Eon produced Never Say Never Again), but Craig's 15-year tenure slightly edge's out Moore's 12-year turn as the infamous superspy. In October, the British Royal Family further solidified Craig's connection to Bond when Princess Anne made him a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, the same title held by Bond in Ian Fleming's novels.
Source: THR