Commentary for August 19, 2022:

So I may have previously mentioned that I wanted to give Johnny something else to do, because he was kind of being a little overshadowed by the other Freedom Fighters. A bit like Rotor, honestly. Now, this is not me putting him on a bus, just changing his role in the story so he can actually have more to do. I do find a big team can make scenes very crowded and I don’t want characters to feel surplus to requirements, and that is why Johnny is going to be Sally’s chief of staff now she’s President Elect.

Now, while Johnny’s epiphany is new in this version of the story, this next part of the scene with rocks suddenly falling on the crowd gathered to ring in the New Year is true to the original, although the characters present are a little different. Plus there wasn’t really a near miss that Eon had to save anyone from in the 2004 version. But hey, rocks suddenly falling from the sky would be really dangerous and potentially lethal to someone caught unawares.