James Bond book celebrates super spy series and its legacy

Licensed to thrill.

The James Bond movies have held that honor since “Dr. No” opened 60 years ago. They’ve survived different leading men, lawsuits and secret-agent rivals ranging from Napoleon Solo to Jason Bourne.

Because, as the theme song to “The Spy Who Loved Me” bragged, nobody does it better.

But 2021′s “No Time to Die” closed a chapter in the series — and set it up for a re-boot. James L. Neibaur and Gary Schneeberger’s “From Connery to Craig: The James Bond Film Series” uses this break to salute the franchise.

What’s been its everlasting appeal? Bond’s costars have their insights.

“It’s a classical story,” says Maud Adams, who appeared with Roger Moore in “The Man With the Golden Gun” and “Octopussy.” “It’s about the hero and the antihero. And good always wins in the end, which is wonderful.”

Barbara Carrera, who teamed with Sean Connery for “Never Say Never Again,” says it’s all about wish fulfillment.

“Every man wants to be James Bond, and every woman wants to be seduced by James Bond,” she declares. “That’s what a Bond film is – everybody’s fantasy.”

But even as the series’ appeal has remained, Bond has changed – depending on the actor who played him.

Choosing the first one, though, proved to be a problem.

“It’s the acting plum of the decade,” the producers bragged. The frontrunners were big stars, Rex Harrison, David Niven and Cary Grant. Suave? Sure. But also pricey and “Dr. No” didn’t have a big budget.

So Bond’s creator, novelist Ian Fleming, suggested economizing.

“Why spend millions of pounds on one of these characters?” he asked the filmmakers. “Why not create our own Cary Grant?”

The producers refined their search to younger, tougher contenders, figuring they could add the elegance later. The winner turned out to be Scottish bodybuilder and B-list actor Sean Connery. His salary? A mere $16,000.

But once he introduced himself on screen – “Bond. James Bond” – there was no holding him or the series back.

“From Russia With Love,” released next in 1963, had a bigger budget, a lush theme song, and the first of 007′s gadgets, a booby-trapped briefcase. The following year, “Goldfinger” pushed things further, giving Bond his souped-up Aston Martin and a love interest with Pussy Galore.

Commercially, the series hit a peak with “Thunderball,” released in 1965. Adjusted for inflation, it’s still the top U.S. grossing Bond film, raking in $590 million in current dollars. But on his way to Japan to shoot the follow-up, “You Only Live Twice,” Connery told reporters he was done.

“Sure, I originally signed to make six Bond pictures,” he declared, “but this is the fifth and I don’t intend to make any more.”

His firm stance of “never again” was more like “not right now” – at least for this money. After turning the role over to Australian model George Lazenby for “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” Connery was lured back in 1971 for “Diamonds Are Forever.” Years later, he would return for still one more, a remake of “Thunderball.” Connery’s wife, Micheline, supplied the teasing title – “Never Say Never Again.”

The squabbles with the ornery Connery convinced the producers they needed both a more agreeable star and a firmer commitment. They found both in someone who had been one of their top choices for the role back in ‘62 – Roger Moore.

He quickly gave the series a different feel.

“When Sean Connery walked into a bar, your immediate feeling was ‘Uh-oh, there’s going to be trouble,’” long-time 007 screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz said. “Sean can look like a bastard, especially when he’s angry. Roger, on the other hand, looks like your typical nice-guy secret agent. There is no way he can look evil.”

His hair perfectly styled, one eyebrow arched in amusement, Moore would stroll through seven adventures as 007. However, by 1985′s “A View to a Kill,” the 58-year-old realized it was time to bow out.

“There are only so many stunts an aging actor can tackle,” he admitted. “And only so many young girls he can kiss without looking like a perverted grandfather.”

The producers went through a long list of possible replacements, from Sam Neill to Mel Gibson. Finally, they settled on Pierce Brosnan, the Irish actor who had just finished the series “Remington Steele,” which ran from 1982-1987. Except once the story broke, Brosnan’s TV bosses refused to let him out of his contract.

So the Bond producers went to someone they had considered nearly 20 years earlier for “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” – Timothy Dalton.

Serious and self-possessed, Dalton brought a different side to Bond. A different mood to the series, with Bond facing slightly more realistic villains – amoral arms dealers and ruthless drug kingpins. But Dalton never seemed at ease with his new stardom, and his two movies — “The Living Daylights” and “License to Kill” —failed to excite audiences.

Then MGM-UA, the studio that had distributed the 007 films since “Dr. No,” was sold at auction. Teams of corporate lawyers went to war. It would be six years before all the legal questions were resolved, and a new Bond film was back in theaters.

And this time, nothing was standing in Brosnan’s way.

His four-film stint – going from “Goldeneye” in 1995 to “Die Another Day” in 2002 – would reshape the series, maybe even save it. Striking a middle ground between Connery’s brutal machismo and Moore’s cocktail-lounge charm, Brosnan was handsome without being precious, roguish without being rough.

His films also saw a new prominence given to women and diversity. Bond now had a female boss in Judi Dench (who told him he was a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur”). He also had strong, fierce costars – Michelle Yeoh and Halle Berry – who gave as good as they got.

But when Brosnan’s contract was up, the producers said goodbye. The success of “The Bourne Identity” had convinced them that the new word in action films was “gritty.” They decided they needed to go in a new direction. They went to Daniel Craig.

They also went back to the beginning. The source material would be Fleming’s first Bond novel, “Casino Royale” (done previously by different producers as a farce). The film would be a complete reboot, introducing us to Bond as he had been. Clever quips would be held to a minimum.

“Maybe I’ll be remembered as the Grumpy Bond,” Craig said. “But I’m quite satisfied with that.”

Although Craig, like every Bond star, occasionally threatened to quit, he stayed for five films. His run ended with “No Time to Die” in 2021. Perhaps, taking inspiration from recent superhero flicks, Craig’s series used its episodes to unfold a lightly connected story. Its end also suggested a new way of looking at 007 – as an identity any person could assume.

James Bond is dead. Long live James Bond.

As usual, the folks behind the secret-agent franchise are keeping their secrets. How and when will James Bond return? And when he does, will Bond even be a he? Is it time for a Jane Bond? Or for a Black or an Asian Bond? All that’s certain is that, in some form, 007 will be back.

Along with a determination to leave us all shaken – and stirred.