Motifs in the James Bond film series that is central to the spy film genre. The gun barrel imagery sometimes carried over to the film posters used to promote Bond films, including as a familiarising element on the introduction of Timothy Dalton for "The Living Daylights". The sequence was traditionally placed at the start of each film until the 2006 instalment "Casino Royale", where it appears after the cold open and is incorporated into the plot; in the 2008 film, "Quantum of Solace", the sequence was placed at the end of the film and incorporates the film's title in its design. For Skyfall, director Sam Mendes had
James Bond in film the next Bond film, with Anthony Hopkins as a potential villain, adding that Hopkins had been in discussions with Eon for a number of weeks. Dalton also stated that the earliest production could begin would be in January or February 1994. Dalton's six-year contract expired in 1993, and after reading France's script for what would become "GoldenEye", he announced on 12 April 1994 that he would not be returning to play Bond; he was replaced by Pierce Brosnan. After Michael France delivered the original screenplay, Jeffrey Caine was brought in to rework much of the material. Kevin Wade was also