Well, sort of. The opening sequence of Skyfall, seen here in a fair amount of detail involving a besuited Bond battling some baddies on top of a moving freight train, results in the death of Bond, when field agent Eve (Naomie Harris) shoots him by mistake. Bond is sent tumbling off a bridge into a river, Bourne-style, forcing M to write his obituary. Of course, he’s not really dead, but it seems to be a closer shave than the last time a Bond pre-credits sequence asked us to believe that the Big Man had snuffed it, back in You Only Live Twice. He also ‘died’ in From Russia With Love, although that was a bloke wearing a Bond mask. Die Another Day also grappled with the idea of a presumed-lost Bond returning to society after a bit of a break.

Interestingly enough, this is the second time that we’ve seen someone write Bond’s obituary. Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) power-typed one in Tomorrow Never Dies, which begs the question – given that 007 is a secret agent, who are these obits for? Who’s going to publish them?

UPDATE: Some readers have suggested that Eve is ordered by M to shoot Bond, which certainly looks like a possibility upon multiple viewings. If so, this makes Skyfall hugely interesting - is M ordering Bond's death as a way of covering her tracks? Or as a punishment? Is this why Bond shows up unannounced at her house later on?