Judi Dench says Craig proposed M’s death in Skyfall

Judi Dench says Daniel Craig proposed killing off her character, M, in the James Bond film Skyfall, according to an account in her new memoir. Dench played the MI6 chief across eight Bond films over 20 years, and her character died in the 2012 film. In the memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?, Dench recounts being told about the character’s fate by producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson and director Sam Mendes. She says they outlined the plot at a restaurant and told her they planned to kill M off. Dench adds that she had previously asked filmmakers to let her out from behind her desk, a request she says was ultimately answered in Skyfall. Dench says Craig’s idea was to kill M. That account comes from Dench’s memoir; the reporting does not include a separate explanation from Craig or the filmmakers about how the decision was made. She also rejects reports that she cried when told she was being replaced as M. Dench says she did not cry, pointing to her 20 years and eight films in the role. Ralph Fiennes took over as M, according to the accounts of her departure. Dench appeared in the next Bond film, Spectre, in a cameo shown on a television screen. She says she...