There seemed to be some confusion among the fans as to whether Desmond Llewelyn would be returning as Q for another Bond film after “The World Is Not Enough”. Many felt as though his exit scene in `World` was his goodbye. Although that indeed did become his final performance due to his tragic death in an auto accident, he was fully expecting to come back.

Desmond stated point blank about his “retirement”: “No, I`m not going to retire. No, I`m there as long as the producers want me and God doesn`t.” Additionally, in a promotional spot made available to Forever, Desmond makes a passing reference to hoping to do more work with John Cleese in the next film.

So now that Desmond is gone, what will happen to the character of Q? More than likely, the character will be retired and John Cleese will assume the general role of equipment manager and simply be known as “R”. That John Cleese will be back is not in dispute. John Cleese confesses in a promotional spot made for “The World Is Not Enough” that he was signed to do “2 or 3 more” films. You can also view that video by following the link at the bottom of this page.

So, it is quite clear that Desmond had every intention of returning to his role of “Q” providing he had his mental faculties and could do the job. Sadly, that chance will never take place, but we always have his other movies to remember him by, and a worthy successor to him in John Cleese.