u/Poddington_Pea

It always annoys me a little when people claim that Sean Connery should have played Kincade in Skyfall, or that the role was specifically written for him. He shouldn't have, and It really wasn't. From what has been said over the years, Connery’s name may have been floated very briefly during early discussions, if that, but the idea was dismissed almost immediately because everyone involved understood how distracting it would have been.

The moment Connery walked on screen, the audience wouldn't have seen Kincade. They would have seen Sean Connery, the original Bond, standing in front of Daniel Craig’s Bond. Instead of serving the story, the scene would have turned into a wink-wink for the audience, and some kind of weird meta-commentary on the franchise itself. It would have pulled attention away from the emotional core of the film and reduced an important supporting character to a wink at the audience.

There is also the practical reality that Connery had been away from acting for years by that point. He had completely retired and his health was already declining. People sometimes talk about the idea as though it was a realistic missed opportunity, when in truth it probably never got beyond a passing thought.

Honestly, I am much happier that we got Albert Finney in the role. There is something fitting about Skyfall becoming Finney’s final major screen role. He was a phenomenal actor with an extraordinary career behind him, and he went out on a high in a big, celebrated film that allowed him to remind audiences just how good he was. In the end, I think the film is far stronger for having Albert Finney in it instead of turning Kincade into a nostalgic cameo for Connery.