Few James Bond adventures have had so much Legal headaches attached to his inheritance as “Thunderball”. Eon Productions has led a relatively tight ship regarding the maintenance of the 007 brand for more than six decades, but there has been a creation of the series which gave them a fight of decade on behalf of the writer-producer Kevin McClory.
Only a few years before “Dr. No” presented the public of cinema to the suave super spyMcClory collaborated with Bond Scribe Ian Fleming, in addition to the scriptwriter Jack Whittingham, on a potential screen adaptation. Their plans finally failed and all were separated. Things have become controversial, however, when McClory discovered that Fleming had not only taken the meat of the drafts that they wrote together to form his novel “Thunderball”, but he did not give it either.
McClory continued and finally won his case, ensuring that everything related to “Thunderball” in the future should also credit it. The ambassadors of the Eon Harry R. Saltzman and Albert Broccoli concluded an agreement with him to be able to move forward on “Thunderball” as a functionality, but at the same time, their agreement also noted that McClory could not oppose another version for at least a decade.
With the help of producer Jack Schwartzman, “Thunderball” was redone almost two decades later in the Official Sean Connnery Revival of Bond in “Never Say Never Again” With MCCLORY as an executive producer. In the years to follow, however, it became clear that he was looking forward to drawing as much mileage from his partial property as he could. What was the plan? He must mainly redo “Thunderball” for the second time, which almost featured another former 007 with his role outside the main series: Timothy Dalton.
Never say …
Despite only in only two Bond vehicles (“The Living Daylights” from 1987 and “License to Kill” in 1989), Dalton’s darker rotation on the character was cherished by Bond fans. His performances exist in this fascinating environment between the lighter presence which preceded him in Roger Moore and the darker taking which would help to define Daniel Craig’s mandate of decades later. Dalton was a big link that had expressed his interest in a third outing, but was due to certain legal conflicts between MGM and Eon (via Weekly).
In this spirit, it is logical that McClory had the impression of being able to court Dalton in the same way that he courted Connery. “Never say”, even to this day, is such a bizarre slice of Bond story that it doesn’t even feel real. It is technically a film on 007, but many official brands of the character are missing. It would certainly have been strange to see Dalton in the same situation, in particular with the foundation of the same story.
The title of the second non -produced remake of McClory “Thunderball” has passed under a few names, the most prolific being the most prolific being “Warhammer 2000.” It looks less like a bond title and more than one CD-ROM game produced at the turn of the millennium. We don’t know much about how this would have distinguished himself from “Thunderball” or “never say”, but I think it is prudent to say that the project was a great idea all around.
McClory almost inaugurated an era of unofficial bond films
“Warhammer 2000” came out of McClory who wanted to make his own competing series of Bond films. In 1997, Sony announced that they were working in close collaboration with him, at the Damm of MGM and Eon Productions (via Variety). The plans closed in 1999 after Sony and MGM settled their assertion amicable after a series of back and forth prosecution that pleaded the legitimacy of McClory’s contribution on the film franchise 007 as a whole. The rules meant roughly that Sony would make no film Bond – at least for the moment.
Sony ended up buying the rights of the MGM library in 2005, which led them to distribute Daniel Craig’s first 007 adventure “Casino Royale”. Until “no time to die”, Bond films were mainly in control of MGM and Eon productions. Even when the MGM library was sold in Amazon, Michael G. Wilson and Barabara Broccoli still had a lot of creative contribution. But Now that Amazon MGM Studios has the single property on all 007The franchise goes to a Uncharted territory, a concept that is afraid of fans of its future. They could technically bring Dalton back into the foray as an older link if they wanted it, although I cannot imagine a world where it would be a good idea. It’s time to bring new blood.
As for McClory, about seven years after the death of the writer-producer in 2006, his succession had reached a settlement with MGM which returned all its rights of “Thunderball” on the studio (via The Hollywood Reporter). Therefore, they now belong to Amazon MGM Studios. The once fruitful idea of a series of competing links is now almost zero and not avenue.
