Sean Connery’s Last Bond Film Isn’t Canon And It’s Actually A Remake You Won’t Believe!

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During the 60s decade, Sean Connery played James Bond in five films: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice. Subsequently, he handed over the role to George Lazenby, who turned out to appear only once in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Realizing their iconic franchise was in turmoil, Eon Productions offered Sean Connery a large sum of money, which brought him back for Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. However, he vowed never to play the spy again. With Roger Moore now taking on the role, they finally had a lasting replacement for James Bond.

However, it’s interesting to note that he didn’t completely part ways with the role. About a dozen years following the release of “Diamonds Are Forever,” he reprised his character for Warner Bros.’ “Never Say Never Again.” The title was partially inspired by Connery’s wife, but why wasn’t it an Eon production? That’s a tale with many twists and turns.

How Did Never Say Never Again Come to Be?

In a surprising twist, the film titled “Never Say Never Again” is essentially a remake of the classic Bond movie “Thunderball”. This might seem puzzling given that Eon Productions owned the rights to the Thunderball novel and its film adaptation. However, before the creation of “Dr. No”, Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, collaborated with producer Kevin McClory and screenwriter Jack Whittingham on a potential Bond story for the big screen, which they named “Longitude 78 West”. Due to disagreements over production costs, this project was abandoned. Later, Fleming reworked the story into the novel “Thunderball”, but neither McClory nor Whittingham received credit for their initial work.

1963 saw the resolution of a copyright lawsuit that McClory won, granting him the rights. When Eon came to produce their Thunderball film, a deal was made with McClory, but this didn’t mean they owned the work; rather, they were permitted to create a movie based on it.

In the year following the 1965 movie release, McClory harbored ambitions to produce another film from the same source material. However, when Eon attempted to prevent this with a lawsuit, it was determined that McClory held exclusive rights to the villainous organization SPECTRE and the character Blofeld. The script submitted in the mid-’70s wasn’t a literal adaptation of Thunderball, so if it were to be brought to the silver screen, it would need to adhere more closely to the original novel.

1978 saw Connery’s active participation in the project, even influencing who would pen the new screenplay. However, his involvement did not automatically mean he was destined to portray the character. In an interview with the Sunday Express, he expressed that when he initially worked on the script, he had no intention of appearing in the film himself.

The dynamic shifted significantly when Jack Schwarzman came on board the project. He persuaded Connery to accept the role, under the condition of a $3 million paycheck, script approval, casting approval, and a share of the overall profits. Despite being 52 at the time, lines were incorporated into the script to allude to this age. Notably, Connery prepared for the role by training with Steven Seagal.

Additionally, several modifications were necessary as well. For instance, some aspects that audiences had grown accustomed to in a Bond film needed to be changed. The movie was allowed to follow the storyline of Thunderball, but it couldn’t incorporate any elements unique to Eon’s film adaptations. For example, the opening gun barrel sequence was replaced with 007 symbols on the screen, and Monty Norman’s well-known “James Bond Theme” was not included.

The outcome is a movie that somewhat resembles a standard action-packed Bond film yet maintains an uneasy distance from typical Bond movies. It’s undeniably the least impressive of the Connery Bonds, despite its financial success, failing to rival the box office performance of Octopussy released in the same year. The fact that Sean Connery returned couldn’t even surpass the earnings of the unmemorable sixth Moore film is telling. What’s more, Never Say Never Again had a larger budget than Octopussy ($36 million compared to $27.5 million). However, despite its overall lackluster performance, it holds a significant spot in Bond movie history.

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2025-04-07 05:40