10 Hidden James Bond References You May Have Missed In Skyfall

Skyfall was released in time for the James Bond franchise’s 50th anniversary. The movie was released in the United Kingdom in October of 2012 – exactly 50 years after Dr. No premiered in October of 1962. It was a great way to honor the franchise’s legacy, with its primary theme being the resilience of James Bond in a culture that has seemingly passed him by.

To commemorate the series’ 50th anniversary, Skyfall was filled to the brim with references to past films. Some of these were quite obvious and in-your-face, others were more subtle references only for long-time Bond fans.

10 Walther PPK

When meeting Q at the museum, Bond is given a modified Walther PPK – one of the few tools he is assigned for the mission. This reference is going all the way back to the source novels from Ian Fleming. Bond used to use a Walther PPK, and the gun is directly named and addressed in the Dr. No movie.

Funnily enough, Sean Connery is actually wielding a standard Walther PP, despite the explicit mention of it being a PPK. Craig’s Bond comments on the old school nature of the tech – an obvious nod to the old school nature of Dr. No and the age of the gun itself.

9 The Aston Martin DB5

Perhaps the most obvious reference in Skyfall is the Aston Martin DB5 – the same iconic car that is so prominent throughout Goldfinger. The traditional Bond theme plays when he unveils the car to M, the license plate is the exact same as the one seen in Goldfinger, and it even comes equipped with the red ejector seat button hidden inside the gear stick.

Bond even makes mention that they’re going “back in time” while inside the car, an obvious reference to the car’s iconic status within the Bond canon.

8 Tattoo Clue

One of the signature scenes of Skyfall sees Bond arriving at a casino in Macau. While there, he meets Silva’s mistress Sévérine, whose hand has been branded with a tattoo. Said tattoo indicates that Sévérine was once a sex slave who now “belongs” to a criminal mastermind.

This is a small reference to Thunderball, which sees Connery’s Bond noticing a criminal tattoo on Count Lippe’s hand, prompting him to grow suspicious and search his room for evidence.

7 Bond Presumed Dead

Skyfall begins in a tantalizing fashion, as Moneypenny accidentally shoots Bond in the shoulder, sending him plummeting off a massive bridge to his supposed death. Thinking that Bond was killed in action, M proceeds to write an obituary for the deceased agent.

This is similar to how the Sean Connery film You Only Live Twice begins. Bond is supposedly killed in Hong Kong and is buried at sea by the HMS Tenby.

6 The Komodo Dragon Pit

While in Macau, Bond is accosted by Sévérine’s bodyguards, who send him careening into a pit filled with komodo dragons. It makes for a somewhat funny scene – especially when Bond shows complete bewilderment and surprise when the dragon emerges from the shadows.

It is also a clever reference to Live and Let Die. There is one specific shot of Bond stepping on one of the dragons to launch himself up and escape the pit, just as Bond steps on alligators to escape a trap in Live and Let Die.

5 The Hall Of Mirrors

The opening credits of Skyfall are quite different from the usual Bond fare. Instead of scantily-clad women dancing in silhouette, Skyfall contains creepy images of gunshots, blood, graves, knives, and tombstones. And one of the images sees Bond traveling through a hall of mirrors, confused and frightened by the very sights of himself.

This is a direct nod to Roger Moore’s The Man with the Golden Gun, which sees Bond traversing a hall of mirrors while fighting Francisco Scaramanga.

4 Silva’s Prosthetic Jaw

One of the signature scenes of Skyfall sees Silva removing his prosthetic jaw and revealing his horribly disfigured face to M. He does so to make M feel remorse and pity, as the disfigurement is the result of a failed suicide attempt following his capture by the Chinese government – a capture that M herself orchestrated.

This could be a reference to both The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, as the steel-colored jaw prosthetic bears some resemblance to Jaws’s metal teeth.

3 “For Her Eyes Only”

The James Bond of Skyfall is a very different Bond indeed. At the beginning of the film, Bond is suffering the effects of both age and a bullet wound, prompting him to dig out the fragments with a knife. He then gives these fragments to an official, telling him “for her eyes only” (meaning M).

This is an obvious reference to the Roger Moore film For Your Eyes Only. Furthermore, Silva is killed when Bond throws a knife into his back, just as Kristatos is killed in For Your Eyes Only.

2 Palm Print Signature

Despite the old-school nature of the Walther PPK, it has a distinctively 21st-century twist, and that is the palm print signature that prevents anyone else from using it.

This is actually seen in action in the Macau sequence, as a henchman fails to shoot Bond with his own gun while inside the komodo dragon pit. But this type of tech actually stretches back to 1989, when it also appeared in the Timothy Dalton-led License to Kill.

1 Exploding Pens

Perhaps the most tongue-in-cheek reference to past Bond films is the “exploding pen” that Q mentions to Bond. After Bond complains of the disappointing simplicity of the gadgets, Q makes a snarky remark about exploding pens and how “they don’t go in for that anymore”.

Not only is this a direct reference to the exploding pen in GoldenEye, but it’s a smart, meta, and funny way for the rebooted series to distance itself from its wackier predecessors. Q branch has moved on from silly exploding pens, just like the Craig series itself.

About The Author

Nathan Sharp
(852 Articles Published)

Nathan Sharp is a writer from outside Toronto, Ontario. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years. His preferences include drama, action, and horror, with the former being a particular point of interest and fascination.

He also has a love of video games, particularly those of Rockstar.

Whether it be about film, television, or video games, Nathan loves a good discussion and has written hundreds of articles for Screen Rant.

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