1983 Box Office Showdown ┌───────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┐ │ Octopussy │ Never Say Never Again │ ├───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┤ │ Actor: Roger Moore │ Actor: Sean Connery │ │ Studio: Eon Productions │ Studio: Warner Bros. │ │ Budget: $27.5 Million │ Budget: $36 Million │ │ Global Box Office: $187M │ Global Box Office: $160M │ └───────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┘ Use code with caution.
For decades, Never Say Never Again existed in a legal limbo, excluded from official James Bond box sets and anniversary marathons. The corporate landscape eventually shifted in 1997 when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) acquired the rights to the film, finally bringing it under the same corporate umbrella as the rest of the Eon library.
: Producer Kevin McClory co-wrote the original story with Ian Fleming and retained the rights to adapt it separately, making this film a modernized remake of the 1965 Thunderball .
Helmsgate’s skeleton rose from the sea like a forgotten god. Ropes creaked, engines muttered in the background, and guards moved with the deliberate ease of those who don’t expect surprises. Bond worked through them like water through a sieve—calculated, cold, leaving them alive but broken in position. Inside, the platform breathed: metal, coolant, the hollowed echo of industrial heartbeat. Never Say Never Again -James Bond 007-
: The script was never filmed, but Fleming turned the ideas into his 1961 novel, Thunderball , without crediting his partners.
The most significant aspect of Never Say Never Again is Sean Connery’s return to the role. Having previously portrayed Bond in Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love , Goldfinger , You Only Live Twice , and Diamonds Are Forever , Connery had notoriously stated he would never return to the character.
: McClory sued Fleming for plagiarism and won the literary and film rights to the Thunderball story, including the rights to the criminal organization SPECTRE and the character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The corporate landscape eventually shifted in 1997 when
But money talks. It was reported that McClory offered Connery a then-astronomical $5 million plus a percentage of the profits to return. The title became a playful jab at Connery’s own earlier convictions. It’s a rare instance of a film’s title being a meta-joke, acknowledging the very circumstances that brought the project to life. It's a promise made to be broken, all for a hefty paycheck.
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While it may lack the iconic theme song and the traditional gun-barrel opening, it remains an indispensable piece of James Bond history—a captivating, rogue reminder that in the world of espionage and Hollywood, you should never say never. Ropes creaked, engines muttered in the background, and
Never Say Never Again boasts one of the most fascinating and star-studded casts ever assembled for a Bond film.
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