In Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman’s “Nobody Does It Better: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of James Bond,” director Martin Campbell recalls the production of “Casino Royale” with great fondness. Producer Barbara Broccoli had been running the franchise since her father, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, handed over the reins in 1995 prior to the release of “GoldenEye,” and she was keen to make the character relevant for a new millennium. The series’ gadget fetish had once again gotten out of control (Pierce Brosnan’s Bond swan song, “Die Another Day,” featured an invisible car), while Matt Damon’s superspy Bourne movies were connecting with audiences on a visceral, bone-cracking level. Where did Bond fit in this gritty, post-9/11 landscape?

Campbell, who’d resuscitated Bond once before with “GoldenEye” (which arrived six years after the box-office disappointment of Timothy Dalton’s final go-round in “License to Kill”), was thrilled that Broccoli and her producing partner Michael G. Wilson granted him the freedom to tinker with 007’s image — especially with an actor of Daniel Craig’s magnitude in the lead role. He was an acclaimed British stage actor who lacked the polish of his predecessors. His casting sent a message to audiences that Bond would not revert to his dame-bedding, wisecracking ways — at least, not without a good deal of muss.

And this is because the Bond of “Casino Royale” is not Bond yet. It’s an origin story of sorts (based on the first book in Ian Fleming’s series, which is not an origin story but an introduction), which gave Campbell and Craig a ton of leeway. Still, Broccoli and Wilson, mindful of their brand, registered objections from time to time.