James Bond Themes That Didn’t Make it to the Big Screen

When you hear a James Bond movie theme tune, chances are that you’ll recognize it and link it to the movie itself. Most of the theme tunes have become such a large part of pop music culture over the years. Each movie has a secret weapon — the theme song. However, not all potential theme songs made it to the big screen.

The James Bond Theme Songs

The chances are that you can’t think of Live and Let Die from 1973 without the rock opera or A View to a Kill from 1985 without thinking of James Bond. There are a number of well-known artists that have successfully created a Bond theme song, while others have been rejected. Billie Eilish recently prepared her Bond theme “No Time to Die” for the Brit Awards.

Theme Song Artists That Could’ve Been

These are some of the artists that could’ve recorded the James Bond theme songs, but didn’t make the cut.

Johnny Cash, “Thunderball”
Cash lost to Tom Jones despite his excellent vocal styles and booming bass. Even though Tom Jones ended up recording the theme, Johnny Cash would’ve also been an excellent pick.

Muse, “Supremacy” for Skyfall

The song “Supremacy” by Muse fell short in the running for the James Bond theme song for the movie Skyfall in 2012. While the actual tune wasn’t as great as the one in the song “Skyfall” by Adele, the lyrics were definitely on point.

 Pet Shop Boys, Theme for James Bond #1
For the film The Living Daylights in 1987, Pet Shop Boys lost to A-ha when it came to being featured in the James Bond movie. Eventually, the song became “This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave” which was on Pet Shop Boys’ 1990 album called Behaviour. Later on, the Norwegian pop trio A-ha was selected for the theme song.