The James Bond films

From 1962

Film — the Eon Productions spy series from Ian Fleming's novels

The longest continuously running film series in cinema, made by Eon Productions from the novels and stories of Ian Fleming, whose first Bond book, Casino Royale, appeared in 1953. Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman brought Dr. No to the screen in 1962 with Sean Connery, and the series has since run to twenty-five Eon films through six lead actors. Two films — the 1967 Casino Royale spoof and Never Say Never Again (1983) — sit outside the official run because of separate rights to the novel and to Thunderball.

How to spot them

▸The gun barrel opening, the walk, the turn and the shot
▸A theme credited to Monty Norman and arranged by John Barry; title sequences by Maurice Binder
▸Q's gadgets, M at the Secret Service, Moneypenny at the desk, and 007's licence to kill
▸Six official leads: Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan, Craig

Key facts

Ursula Andress walking out of the Caribbean with a knife at her belt, 1962 (1962)

Honey Ryder in Dr. No, directed by Terence Young — the first Eon film

A silver Aston Martin DB5 with revolving plates, machine guns and an ejector seat (1964)

Goldfinger, which also gave Shirley Bassey the first of her three title songs

George Lazenby's only outing, 1969, ending with a bride shot dead in the car (1969)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, with Diana Rigg as Tracy

Roger Moore's seven films, from 1973 to 1985 — more than any other lead (1973)

Live and Let Die to A View to a Kill; he was 57 in his last

Desmond Llewelyn played the quartermaster in seventeen films over 36 years (1963)

From From Russia with Love in 1963 to The World Is Not Enough in 1999

Judi Dench took over as the head of the Secret Service in 1995 (1995)

GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan's first; she played M in seven films

Adele's 2012 title song, the first from the series to win an Academy Award (2012)

'Skyfall'; the film was also the first in the series to take a billion dollars

Denis Villeneuve engaged to direct the twenty-sixth Eon film, with an unknown British lead sought in 2026 (2026)

Amazon MGM took creative control in 2025; Amy Pascal and David Heyman produce, Steven Knight writes

Quick-fire facts

•Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953; he wrote twelve novels and two short-story collections
•Eon Productions was founded by Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman; Dr. No opened in 1962
•The James Bond Theme is credited to Monty Norman and was arranged by John Barry, who scored eleven films
•Sean Connery made six Eon films; George Lazenby one; Roger Moore seven; Timothy Dalton two; Pierce Brosnan four; Daniel Craig five
•Never Say Never Again (1983) and the 1967 Casino Royale are not Eon films, owing to separate rights
•Desmond Llewelyn played Q in seventeen films; Lois Maxwell played Moneypenny in fourteen
•Judi Dench first played M in GoldenEye in 1995, the first woman in the role
•Skyfall (2012) was the first film in the series to gross over $1 billion
•Three title songs have won Academy Awards: 'Skyfall' (Adele), 'Writing's on the Wall' (Sam Smith) and 'No Time to Die' (Billie Eilish)
•Amazon MGM Studios took full creative control of the series in February 2025; Denis Villeneuve was named director of the next film in June 2025

Drill it — 9 cards

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Sources

Deadline — James Bond: Denis Villeneuve to cast 'unknown' British actor Consulted for the current state of Bond 26; cited without URL
Paul Duncan (ed.) — The James Bond Archives