10 Movies That Changed Other Movies

2006's Casino Royale marked a new era for James Bond in more ways than one. In addition to introducing audiences to Daniel Craig's new take on the character, it also had to consider 007's relevance in a post-Austin Powers world.

The Austin Powers trilogy was conceived as a thinly-veiled parody of the more ridiculous Bond films - largely from the Roger Moore era.

But given the abject silliness of some of the Pierce Brosnan-starring entries released in Austin Powers' shadow - especially Brosnan's final outing, Die Another Day - it began to feel like Bond had actually become Austin Powers in its own right.

And so, for the Craig-starring reboot, it was felt that Austin Powers had effectively forced the filmmakers' hands to steer the franchise in a considerably grittier, more serious direction, free of the silliness and irony of the Moore and Brosnan eras.

Craig bluntly admittedly as much in a 2014 interview with MI6 Confidential:

"We had to destroy the myth because Mike Myers f**ked us - I am a huge Mike Myers fan, so don't get me wrong - but he kind of f**ked us; made it impossible to do the gags."

Ultimately the more serious-minded tenor of the Craig films earned it the strongest box office returns of any Bond era, while the producers ultimately attempted to reintroduce a lighter touch from Skyfall onwards - with varying degrees of success.