Elliot Carver

Lore & Background

Elliot Carver is the billionaire owner of the Carver Media Group Network (CMGN), a global media empire. In the film, he uses an encoder obtained at a terrorist arms bazaar by his associate, cyberterrorist Henry Gupta, to provoke war between China and the UK. Meaconing the GPS signal, Gupta sends the frigate HMS Devonshire off course into Chinese-occupied waters in the South China Sea, where Carver's stealth ship, commanded by his naval crew, ambushes and sinks it with a 'sea drill' torpedo.

Carver's henchmen steal one of Devonshire's missiles and shoot down a Chinese MiG fighter jet investigating the scene. Stamper kills the Devonshire's survivors with a knife, framing the Chinese by leaving Chinese ammunition at the scene. Carver plans to destroy the Chinese leadership gathered at a Chinese naval parade with the stolen missile, allowing a corrupt Chinese general named Chang to assume power and negotiate a truce between Britain and China.

Once the conflict is over, Carver will be given exclusive broadcasting rights in China for the next century, which would then allow his broadcasting network to be completely global. Carver is married to Paris Carver, an ex-girlfriend of Bond's, whom he orders killed after discovering her betrayal. While many reviewers compared Elliot Carver to Rupert Murdoch, screenwriter Bruce Feirstein based the character on Robert Maxwell, with Carver's reported death bearing similarities to that of Maxwell's: 'Missing, presumed drowned, while on a cruise aboard his luxury yacht,' as stated by M at the end of the film.

Reader's Guide

Elliot Carver is the main antagonist of Tomorrow Never Dies. He is a non-combatant who relies on his henchmen, particularly Stamper and Dr. Kaufman, to do his dirty work. Carver meets his end when Bond uses Carver's own drilling machine against him, killing him aboard his stealth ship as it is destroyed by a missile explosion.