History Trivia / Skyfall

* WorkingTitle: ''Silver Bullet'', ''Magic 44'', ''A Killing Moon'', and ''Nothing is Forever''.

* DarkhorseCasting: French actress and model Creator/BereniceMarlohe (who pretty much only did {{bit character}}s on French TV and in French films up to this point, so not even that well known in France) was cast as the film's main Bond girl.

* DarkhorseCasting: French actress Creator/BereniceMarlohe (who pretty much only did {{bit character}}s on French TV and in French films up to this point, so not even that well known in France) was cast as the film's main Bond girl.

* FakeNationality: Somewhat. Bond is a half-Scot and grew up in a Scottish manor, and he's played by an Englishman. (Ironically, Fleming's original conception of Bond was as an Englishman, but he was so impressed by Creator/SeanConnery's performance that he gave Bond Scottish ancestry in the next book.)
* FakeScot: English-born Creator/AlbertFinney plays Kincaid with a Scottish accent.

* FakeNationality: Somewhat. Bond is a half-Scot and grew up in a Scottish manor, and he's played by an Englishman. (Ironically, Fleming's original conception of Bond was as an Englishman, but he was so impressed by Connery's performance that he gave Bond Scottish ancestry in the next book.)

** The scenes of Bond dealing with Patrice and the interior of the Macau casino were filmed in Pinewood, England.

* CreatorsOddball: To date, it's the only Bond film that was shot on digital. ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' was shot on [=35mm=] film cameras.

** M's Assistant is cut almost entirely from the early [=MI6=] scenes.

** Naomie Harris' character Eve was actually [[spoiler:Moneypenny.]]

* {{Jossed}}: A common fan theory was that "James Bond" was a code name or otherwise not his birth name, much like LegacyCharacter M. ''Skyfall'' pretty much shoots this one down.

* FollowTheLeader: The color correction on the film posters set off a trend of men wearing blue tuxedos[[note]]in the film itself, Bond wears a tuxedo in traditional midnight blue, which looks "blacker than black"[[/note]].

* WorkingTitle: ''Silver Bullet'', ''Magic 44', ''A Killing Moon'', and ''Nothing is Forever''.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** [[http://ca.ign.com/articles/2012/11/07/sean-connery-skyfall-cameo-was-discussed Sean Connery]] was the director's first choice to play Kincade, but he ultimately wasn't approached for fear that it would take the viewers out of the movie. Some of Kincaid's lines suddenly take a whole new meaning when one realises Connery was envisioned for the role. Especially the one where Bond asks him if he's ready, and Kincaid replies "I was ready before you were born". Daniel Craig was indeed born 6 years after 1962's ''Film/DrNo''.
** Creator/SamMendes has stated he originally planned to open the film with the BondGunBarrel sequence, but realized it would have conflicted with the shot of Bond walking into focus in the first scene. (In a case of making lemonade from lemons, placing it at the end allowed the film to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the franchise).
** Mendes may have at one point considered Creator/KevinSpacey for the role of the main villain.
** [[http://news.yahoo.com/lost-james-bond-film-would-have-resulted-in-judi-205259954.html An early script had BOND]] as the one to [[spoiler:kill M.]]
** Creator/DannyBoyle was once erroneously touted in the media as having being asked to direct this film. (Incidentally, Boyle was later signed on to direct ''Film/NoTimeToDie'', only to leave that film due to CreativeDifferences.)

* ActorAllusion:
** Naomie Harris as MI-6 Agent Eve. Harrias was once an Europol officer with [[Film/NinjaAssassin killer ninjas]] on her tail.
** After assessing Ben Whitshaw's Q, Bond asserts that it's a [[Film/TheTempest2010 "Brave new world."]]

** [[http://news.yahoo.com/lost-james-bond-film-would-have-resulted-in-judi-205259954.html An early script had BOND]] as the one to [[spoiler:kill M]]

** [[http://news.yahoo.com/lost-james-bond-film-would-have-resulted-in-judi-205259954.html An early script had BOND as the one to kill M]]

** Naomie Harris was an Europol officer with [[Film/NinjaAssassin killer ninjas]] on her tail.

** Creator/DannyBoyle was once erroneously touted in the media as having being asked to direct this film.

** The Ascot Racecourse doubles for the interior of the Pudong International Airport.
** The penthouse pool at Shanghai was in Canary Wharf at London.

** An establishing scene with Sévérine in Shanghai International Airport where she gives Patrice the equipment case on the escalators.
** Exposition scenes that explained that Sévérine sets up targets interested in buying stolen paintings only for them to be assassinated and the money stolen.
** A procession of hearses and producer Michael G. Wilson's cameo as a pall bearer at the funeral service for the MI-6 agents.
** Shots of dead and wounded MI-6 agents following the explosion were cut.

* DevelopmentHell: Production stalled for a while as MGM went bankrupt and Eon decided to wait until the studio got back on their feet. The entire creative team agrees that the delay gave them the time to fine tune the script. Plus, the eventual release date ended up coinciding with the franchise's 50th anniversary.

* RecycledScript: It's similar in concept to ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''; both involve an abduction victim left to their fate by M, whom they view as a quasi-maternal figure, and M is forced to deal with the consequences of her decisions [[spoiler:when said victim wants revenge]]. They are also the only Bond movies where M is actually part of the story rather than just giving Bond his briefing and sending him on his way. Both also feature scenes in Istanbul as well as a chase scene in London (a rarity for the franchise, despite London being in nearly every film), an explosion at the MI6 building, MI-6 being temporarily relocated, Bond recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in the BondColdOpen, the introduction of a new Q, a female lackey who is terrified of her male terrorist employer, Bond being held captive in a chair by the BigBad, the Big Bad using Bond to get to M, Bond pursuing a villain underground, a helicopter destroying Bond's car, Bond using gas to blow up a helicopter, and the bad guy [[spoiler:being impaled by a metallic object]].

* CaliforniaDoubling: No actor went to Shanghai, only cameramen to get nice views of the city. The scenes of Bond dealing with Patrice and the casino's inside were filmed in Pinewood, England. Bond's arrival at the casino with Chinese New Year dragons and lanterns was filmed on the Thames in London.

* TypeCasting: Jarringly inverted in Ralph Fiennes' case - while he's at first portrayed in a way that leaves ambiguous the possibility of him being one of the bad guys as a RedHerring, he ends up being a normally office-bound senior spy who can go out into the field to support his man when the chips are down (and in the next film takes down a treasonous mole and formally arrests the BigBad). Keep all of this in mind when you remember that he's portrayed by the same man who played ''Lord Voldemort''.

* AscendedFanon: Bond coming from a huge manor is a third-party addition from the novels.

* BillingDisplacement: Severine is plastered all over promotional materials for the film and is heavily implied to be the main romantic lead. However, her screentime in a two-hour movie is about fifteen minutes, and [[spoiler:she lasts just long enough to reveal her tragic abusive background, and is murdered by Silva in front of an indifferent Bond.]]. Eve, meanwhile, is far more significant to the plot and stays around from beginning to end, but her face never appears on any posters, and she's only in the tv spots for about a split second. [[spoiler: This might be to hide the twist regarding her true identity.]]

** A procession of hearses and producer Michael G. Wilson's cameo as a pall bearer at the funeral service for the MI6 agents.
** Shots of dead & wounded MI6 agents following the explosion were cut.

* FakeNationality: Somewhat. Bond is a half-Scot, and he's played by an Englishman. (Ironically, Fleming's original conception of Bond was as an Englishman, but he was so impressed by Connery's performance that he gave Bond Scottish ancestry in the next book.)

* RecycledScript: It's similar in concept to ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''; both involve an abduction victim left to their fate by M, whom they view as a quasi-maternal figure, and M is forced to deal with the consequences of her decisions [[spoiler:when said victim wants revenge]]. They are also the only Bond movies where M is actually part of the story rather than just giving Bond his briefing and sending him on his way. Both also feature scenes in Istanbul as well as a chase scene in London (a rarity for the franchise, despite London being in nearly every film), an explosion at the MI6 building, MI6 being temporarily relocated, Bond recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in the BondColdOpen, the introduction of a new Q, a female lackey who is terrified of her male terrorist employer, Bond being held captive in a chair by the BigBad, the BigBad using Bond to get to M, Bond pursuing a villain underground, a helicopter destroying Bond's car, Bond using gas to blow up a helicopter, and the bad guy [[spoiler:being impaled by a metallic object]].

-->'''Bond''': Latest thing from Q-Branch. [[DeadpanSnarker It's called a radio.]]

** [[http://news.yahoo.com/lost-james-bond-film-would-have-resulted-in-judi-205259954.html An early script had BOND as the one to kill M ]]

* CaliforniaDoubling: No actor went to Shanghai, only cameramen to get nice views of the city. The scenes of Bond dealing with Patrice and the casino were filmed in Pinewood, England. Bond's arrival at the casino with Chinese New Year dragons and lanterns was filmed on the Thames in London.

* CaliforniaDoubling: No actor went to Shanghai, only cameramen to get nice views of the city. The scenes of Bond dealing with Patrice and the casino were filmed in Pinewood, England.