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Licence To Queer covers queer aspects of Bond books, video games and more. Search here for your favourite titles and characters or find content related to particular queer identities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, etc).
Rough Diamonds: the early drafts of Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever may be one of the more bizarre Bond films but the early drafts by Richard Maibaum make the finished film look quite sane by comparison! Granted access to the Eon archives, film scholar Tom Mason shared with me the uncut gems he’d uncovered: possible versions of Diamonds Are Forever which are, by turns, ahead of their time AND positively deranged. You're not going to believe what Diamonds might have been!
Look what the cat dragged in: is the world ready for a more feline James Bond?
More than shifting his gender or sexual orientation, surely the boldest way to reinvent Bond would be to make him care for something other than himself. A cat, perhaps? After looking back over 70 years of books and films, I’m convinced the idea has legs (four of them).
2026 is an important year for Licence to Queer: we turn 006 years old! In this time, we’ve published more than half a million words about queerness in Bond, put out dozens of podcasts, raised more than £9000 for charity and created a real community. 2006 also marks the 20th anniversary of Casino Royale - without this film, Licence to Queer probably wouldn’t be here. And 2026 is going to be the year when we learn a lot more about Bond 26. We’re poised to bring our unique perspective to all of these developments. To get us warmed up, we’ve curated 26 pieces from the last 006 years.