‘GoldenEye’ Turns 30: Why the James Bond Comeback Film Almost Wasn’t Made

30 years ago, on November 17, 1995, James Bond made his triumphant return in GoldenEye. The film — the first to bring 007 to the big screen in six years, since Licence to Kill — was heralded by fans and critics as a return to form for the franchise, earning $356.4 million on a $60 million budget and introducing viewers to Pierce Brosnan as the new secret agent man. But fans may not have realized that the film that revived one of cinema’s longest-running series almost never happened, and was beset by problems, including lawsuits and the declining health of the man who had shaped the series from the start.