FAQ for
Skyfall (2012) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Skyfall can be found here.

"Skyfall" is the name of the Bond family estate located in Scotland. The title is not that of a Fleming work and the story does not appear to be taken from any of Fleming's books. The screenplay for Skyfall was written by English screenwriters Neil Purvis and Robert Wade (veterans of previous Bond films), joined by American screenwriter John Logan. Fleming gets credit only for creation of the characters.

Confirmed shooting locations include Istanbul, Shanghai, Scotland, London, and Pinewood Studios. There were initial plans to shoot action scenes in India, but in August 2011 those plans were scrapped, with cited reasons including difficulties in getting permits and permissions. Reportedly plans were then made to film action scenes in South Africa, but recent reports claim that those plans were scuttled as well. In April 2012 a report emerged that a set was being constructed at Pinewood to reproduce a location inspired by the deserted island of Hashima in Japan, that will be a setting for some of the action.

Fellow MI6 agent Eve played by Naomie Harris accompanies Bond on his missions and Sévérine played by Bérénice Marlohe is an unwilling member of Silva's organization.

No, this will be a stand alone film. Daniel Craig has stated "We've finished this story as far as I'm concerned. We've got a great set of bad guys. There is an organization that we can use whenever we want to. The relationship between Bond and M is secure and Felix is secure." He then added on where he would like to see the film series moving on, stating, "Let's try and find where Moneypenny came from and where Q comes from. Let's do all that and have some fun with it." [Source]

It is considered highly unlikely that SPECTRE will return, especially since Bond is pitted with an organization that is somewhat a revision or successor to SPECTRE called Quantum from the last two films. In addition it is unknown at this time to who own the rights of SPECTRE due to a long unsettled lawsuit between Kevin McClory (1926-2006), who contributed to Ian Fleming's ninth novel Thunderball, and EON Productions. Although, if the producers have gained the rights, there could be a possibility to bring back 007's arch nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

The film's music will be composed by Thomas Newman, who is a regular collaborator with director Sam Mendes. In mid-September 2012 a tabloid announced that singer Adele would be performing the theme song; on October 1st, she was officially confirmed by producers after months of rumors. The single was released on October 5th.

No, the traditional gun barrel appears at the end of the film - followed by the classic line "James Bond will return". In the DVD and blu-ray DVD edition commentary track, director Sam Mendes says that putting the gun barrel at the end was a deliberate decision since the opening shot of Bond approaching the room where he finds Agent Ronson evokes the imagery of the gun barrel from the series.

It is unknown at this time whether or not any of Bond's enemies from the original Ian Fleming novels that were then adapted to film will return to the reboot series. So far, the producers have said that there are no plans to remake previous films and/or re-adapt Fleming works that have already been used, and have stated that they will stick to original stories for the foreseeable future. (But they haven't ruled it out for further down the line.) Of course, those stories could include unused scraps from various Fleming works (locations, character names, minor plot points, etc.) but the essence of the stories will still be original. Many fans have speculated that the new series will see the return of SPECTRE and Blofeld, but it appears to be unlikely at present. It still remains unclear if Ian Fleming created the SPECTRE organization, to which featured Bond's greatest nemesis of all, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. (The creation of SPECTRE and Blofeld has long been a subject of controversy and long lawsuits; for many years, Kevin McClory owned the rights to the two, but it is currently unknown if the rights reverted to EON after McClory's death in 2006, or if McClory's heirs inherited them. The present status of the rights to SPECTRE and Blofeld is a subject of debate among fans.)

At the end of the film, there is a logo celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bond movies and the words "James Bond Will Return"

Production of Skyfall was at a standstill for over a year due to MGM's financial troubles and bankruptcy. MGM was close to $4 billion in debt and couldn't front any money for production. (MGM has a 50% stake in EON, meaning that EON couldn't make a move until MGM's affairs were settled.) In late 2010 MGM underwent bankruptcy proceedings, and in early 2011 deals were made for production and distribution of MGM's films. (While officially an MGM film, Skyfall will be distributed by Sony.) The last film, Quantum of Solace, was released in 2008, making for a four-year gap between films, roughly the same length of time between Pierce Brosnan's last Bond film, Die Another Day and the first of the rebooted series, Casino Royale. The longest delay between films in the series was from 1989 to 1995, roughly 6 1/2 years, between Timothy Dalton's last appearance in Licence to Kill and Brosnan's 1st film in the series, GoldenEye.

The bikes are a modified HONDA CRF 250 R http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/2010_Honda_CRF250R_at_the_2009_Seattle_International_Motorcycle_Show_2.jpg

It means he was in the Special Air Service (SAS) the famous British special forces unit whose headquarters is in the town of Hereford on the Welsh/English border.

Almost certainly not. Silva had no way of knowing that Bond wouldn't just shoot him on the spot and it would hardly be necessary for him to be captured in order to enact his plan. It is more likely that he knew that MI6 would attempt to capture him and had therefore prepared beforehand for his escape.

The drive was recovered upon Silva's arrest along with all his equipment that he had used for his other cyber-crimes. Silva was not expecting to be arrested thus would not have thought to hide away or destroy the drive before MI6 agents arrived. The drive really meant nothing to Silva and was only used as a means to torment M, which is why Silva would make no effort to retrieve it after he escapes his cell. There are several scenes after his arrest where M confirms the threat of the harddrive is gone.

The front of the train reads "Not in service". The train is inactive at the time. Silva was using the train to cover his escape from the chamber; he probably didn't intend for the train to kill Bond, it was probably meant to stay lodged in the chamber to thwart anyone who came after him. If Bond had been crushed by it, it would've been a bonus in his plan.

M and Bond know that Silva only wants M and that while in London she is more vulnerable but more importantly there is likely to be more destruction among the public and more civilians will be killed as a byproduct of that destruction as well as reputations ruined at MI6. M and Bond come up with the plan to make Silva chase them to a remote area to avoid anyone else being involved or hurt in what was essentially a personal confrontation between M and Silva. M and Bond's ultimate goal is to settle things with Silva regardless of outcome with as little notice or damage to anyone outside the conflict as possible. The Skyfall lodge provided a remote, uninhabited area for a final showdown as well as a place that Bond was familiar with which would give him somewhat of an upper-hand against Silva and his men. Not to mention, the lodge is in the middle of a very large, flat, open plain. This would make it very easy to see anyone approaching. Another reason that they do not bring any backup from MI6 is simply that MI6 would never endorse or agree to their plan which is why they go rogue. This is also why Q and Mallory indicate reluctance to help them even from afar as their careers would be jeopardized if their role in the plan were discovered. The lack of weapons is explained when Bond asks Kincade where all the guns that used to be at the house are after he finds the empty gun cases where Bond's father's gun collection used to be. Kincade reveals that upon the false news of Bonds death, nearly all of the guns were sold off to other collectors. Bond had been counting on there being more weapons at the house as he could not get any from MI6 as he was operating against their wishes. M even states, after she and Bond begin to drive away from the courthouse, that too many people have suffered because of Silva's vendetta, indicating she just wants it to be over by any means necessary and at as little expense as possible. From a production standpoint, the producers and writers probably wanted to see Bond return to a survival situation where he'd have to rely on his ability to out-strategize his enemy instead of relying on fancy guns and gadgets. The only "gadget" he uses in the final battle are the machine guns housed in the Aston-Martin, and, even then, it required strategy to use them along with all the improvised weapons the three came up with.

There is a scene as Bond and M are driving away from the city where Bond calls Q and asks him to leave a sort of digital trail of crumbs for Silva to find, so he will know to look for them there. Mallory catches Q doing it and approves.

No. He fires the flare to so that he can see the hole in the ice to escape. Being thick enough to hold a person's weight, it would be virtually impossible to break through by hand from beneath.

Depends on how you look at it, but for the most part he accomplished the plan he and M set out on. As far as his mission from MI6 goes, Bond did lead them to Silva's hideout and the retrieval of the missing hard drive and thus was successful in that respect. The ending at Skyfall is where things get a bit complicated. Silva's plan is essentially fulfilled: He publicly humiliates the MI6 and manages to kill M in what accounts for a kamikaze mission which fails at the first attempt at the inquiry, but ultimately succeeds at Skyfall. And while Silva dies at Bond's hands before M bleeds to death and he's denied the pleasure of seeing M fall, his plan is, nevertheless, successful. However Bond's goal was to protect M and defeat Silva in a place where no one else would notice or be injured or killed. A confrontation in the city would not only lead to MI6 having to have further involvement and even more fallout from the Silva mess, but also many innocent civilians would end up being caught in the crossfire. He succeeds in killing Silva, but M dies before they can call for help. So, at the end of the day, although Bond is the "last rat standing", we can consider that both sides cancelled each other out and the outcome is a tie.

Granborough Road is a fictitious name, but Bond goes on to describe it as "a station on the Metropolitan Line that closed down years ago", which would match a number of abandoned stations on the London Underground train network. The station that matches this description most closely would be Marlborough Road, which was on the Metropolitan Line between Baker Street and Finchley Road. It was closed in 1939 and was replaced by a new station named St John's Wood which is on the deeper level tube line now known as the Jubilee Line (formerly this section of line was part of the Bakerloo Line). Daniel Craig has a house a few miles from this station, in Primrose Hill. The real name "Marlborough" would probably be associated with tobacco products for most audiences, and although it might still stand out from the other random letter combinations on the screen there wouldn't be an obvious connection with the London Underground.

Heineken reportedly paid $45 million for product placement and related promotions. A list of most products seen in the film can be seen here.