James Bond has become an icon not just for slick action heroes but also for how a role can recast with a new actor. Pierce Brosnan, the fifth Bond, is often the standard against others are measured. However the actor's increasing cost and age, as well as the campy direction the 007 series was heading, led to Brosnan leaving the role after 2002's Die Another Day.
Brosnan became Bond following after his friend Timothy Dalton. However, Brosnan had been offered the role before Dalton in 1986, but the publicity of such an offer caused his NBC show, Remington Steele, to surge in ratings, leading to its renewal. As Brosnan was contractually required to stay on Remington Steele, he couldn't take the job as Bond.
After the run of both Remington Steele and Dalton's 007, Brosnan was announced as the fifth Bond in 1994. He initially signed on for three movies, with the option for a fourth. His first, GoldenEye, was one of the best of the James Bond series and the most successful worldwide since Roger Moore's Moonraker. Brosnan followed this success up with Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough, which were also successful entries in the franchise.
After those initial successes, Brosnan's fourth Bond movie was the infamous Die Another Day. While a box-office success, many critics and fans of the series felt the movie was far too campy -- Bond surfing the wave caused by a space laser has an air of jumping the shark about it. While Brosnan was still bringing his same slick charm to the role, the character was being given increasingly ridiculous scenarios to ride out.
The critical failings of Brosnan's fourth Bond movie set the stage for his departure. The final contributors, however, were the actor's age and his price tag. Brosnan was approaching 50 after Die Another Day and quickly reaching Moore's record of oldest Bond actor at 58. Fans had expressed concern at the age of the actor playing a character renowned for his action and charisma, something that Brosnan wanted to avoid. He had also made more than $16 million on Die Another Day, adjusted for inflation, driving up production costs substantially.
The franchise saw an opportunity to reboot after gaining the rights to Casino Royale, reverting from the campiness of Die Another Day. A reboot also provided the perfect opportunity to recast the title role and save some money in the process. While Brosnan had been willing to reprise his role, aiming to match Sean Connery's six Bond films, the 007 producers were ready to go in a new direction.
Brosnan seems to hold no grudges over the decision to recast the role of Bond for Casino Royale, and he has publicly expressed support for his replacement, Daniel Craig. For many fans, though, Brosnan will always be the James Bond they remember -- even if that memory is of him surfing a giant wave.