Pierce Brosnan was offered the role of James Bond, but the publicity improved "Remington Steele"s ratings and it was renewed, requiring Brosnan to contractually return to the show, this caused Eon Productions to have to look elsewhere for the new 007. The producers instead hired Timothy Dalton for "The Living Daylights" (1987), and "Licence to Kill" (1989). While Brosnan was reluctant to discuss losing the Bond role, in part because Dalton was a friend, he appeared in Diet Coke commercials portraying what the "Los Angeles Times" described as "a dashing Bond-like character", and NBC advertised "Noble House" with Brosnan dressed in a
Licence to Kill Licence to Kill Licence to Kill is a 1989 British spy film, the sixteenth in the "James Bond" film series produced by Eon Productions, and the last to star Timothy Dalton in the role of the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming story. It is also the fifth and final consecutive Bond film to be directed by John Glen. The story has elements of two Ian Fleming short stories and a novel, interwoven with aspects from Japanese Rōnin tales. The film sees Bond being suspended from MI6