James Bond‘s 007 status is legendary, but few know the origin of how he gained his “00” designation or how its meaning has changed over time. Bond has become synonymous with “007” – those three numbers that denote his famous license to kill. It’s strange to think of a time when the iconic spy operated without it, but believe it or not, both the Bond of literature and film were once just regular MI6 agents, before being promoted to the elite “00” or “double-O” team. In November, the iconic British spy is set to return for the 25th time in No Time To Die, with Daniel Craig set to bow out after his fifth outing in the role before a new actor takes up the prestigious 007 mantle.
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Craig first debuted as Bond in Casino Royale, which contains a short prelude explaining how Bond gains his “00” title. But the film’s depiction of events differs from original Bond author Ian Fleming’s explanation. Before 1962’s Dr. No hit theaters, Fleming had published ten Bond stories, the first being Casino Royale. By 1962, the books had established a fairly firm backstory for their suave protagonist, including the explanation of the “00” status as designating an agent of the Secret Service who had been granted a license to kill in the line of duty.
In the movies, 2006’s Casino Royale was the first time audiences were given an on-screen Bond origin story, even if it did differ from the books. In Fleming’s Casino Royale, Bond - a former Naval commander now working for MI6 – gives a full account of how he became 007, explaining that he’d “killed two villains” in the years prior, for which he was “awarded a Double O number in the Service.” According to Bond, these on-duty kills occurred on two separate occasions: one in New York and one in Stockholm. In the 2006 movie, Bond actually becomes 007 in the opening scenes, by dispatching corrupt MI6 section chief Dryden and his “contact.” As Dryden says before being shot, “your file shows no kills, and it takes -“ before Bond interrupts with “two.” Much like the rest of the film, Casino Royale obviously takes its cues from the books when it comes to Bond’s 007 backstory, but switches things up for a more dramatic opening sequence. Bond still needs his double kills to become a “double-O,” but these aren’t the same “two villains” from the book.
Things get a little more complex when it comes to the meaning of the double-O designation itself. It seems Fleming was still working out the details by his third book in the series, Moonraker. Not until this novel was it confirmed that “00” agents carried the famous license to kill. Prior to these revelations, Fleming had simply established that two successful kills in the course of a job led to the “00” promotion - and even that remains somewhat unclear. Though Bond says in Casino Royale that he killed two people before he was given his elite status, he also says, “A Double O number in our Service means you’ve had to kill a chap in cold blood in the course of some assignment,” suggesting it only takes one kill to earn the title.
In the films, Bond has been taking out enemies since Dr. No, operating under his “00” status from the beginning (until Casino Royale reset the Bond franchise timeline). The movies also differed from the books by introducing numerous “00” agents throughout the Bond saga’s 24-movie run. And it seems No Time To Die will feature a new one in the form of Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, who is rumored to have filled the 007 role since Bond’s retirement. If the reports are accurate, and Nomi is the new 007 rather than another “00” agent, the James Bond movies will have also established that the last number in the designation does not refer to the person themselves, but is a generic code that can be applied and reapplied to whatever agent fills the role.
- No Time to Die/James Bond 25 (2020)Release date: Nov 20, 2020