20 Things You Didn’t Know About Casino Royale (2006)
9. “Utter One More Syllable And I’ll Have You Killed.”
Initially, following the decision to reboot the Bond franchise and cast a younger actor in the lead role, it was planned that a whole new cast of central actors would join him, including a new M.
However, Martin Campbell, who had cast Judi Dench as the first female M in GoldenEye, loved what she had done with the character so much that he insisted on carrying her over from the previous continuity and expanding her role with numerous scenes peppered throughout the film.
Campbell was also interested in taking the character in new directions, including introducing M’s foul-mouthed, sassy attitude, which drew some criticism, but was continued by the directors who succeeded him.
M was even given an onscreen husband, who was portrayed by the film’s Czech transportation coordinator, Jiri Husak.