Sean Connery Started James Bond’s Canon Confusion 53 Years Ago (Then Did It Again 12 Years Later)

Sean Connery quickly became synonymous with the James Bond franchise, but his 1971 entry into the film series was arguably the beginning of when Bond continuity started to become very confusing. Connery is tied with Roger Moore for appearances as the famous spy, but an asterisk next to one of Connery’s Bond films arguably hands the title to his competitor. Despite originating the role, Sean Connery’s time spent as James Bond is a little more nebulous than most, and so the franchise’s continuity takes a hit as a result.

Some of Sean Connery’s best movies involved the Scottish actor playing Bond. In addition, out of every James Bond actor, Connery is often hailed as the best to ever step into the role. That being said, his relationship with the franchise started to sour toward the end of his tenure, and it became unclear on numerous occasions whether he wanted to continue playing the iconic character. However, this tumultuous period wasn’t clearly defined. As such, the questions about James Bond canon raised by his attitude resurfaced over a decade after he left the film series.

Sean Connery Ending His Bond Retirement After 1 Movie Brings The Canon Of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Into Question

George Lazenby’s time as Bond lasted just one movie

Sean Connery was the first actor to play James Bond, starring in an impressive streak of five movies between 1962 and 1967. Pressure and fatigue were among the reasons why Sean Connery quit Bond after five movies, and he was replaced by George Lazenby for 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. While the loss of Connery was a blow to the franchise, recasting James Bond wasn’t an entirely unusual move. The franchise had been very successful, so it’s no surprise EON Productions wanted it to continue. However, the Bond timeline started to become blurry once Connery returned.

Lazenby only appeared once as James Bond, with his performance in his lone Bond film drawing much criticism. Connery was tempted back to the role to steady the ship, and while his comeback contributed to the franchise’s resurgence, it becomes unclear whether Connery and Lazenby were the same version of the same character. Connery’s 1971 comeback Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever, could technically be a continuation of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. However, it’s also possible that Diamonds doesn’t acknowledge Lazenby’s efforts and instead carries on from 1967’s You Only Live Twice.

Roger Moore inheriting the lead role just one movie after Diamonds Are Forever didn’t help with the confusion. Since then, James Bond has been recast multiple times, and the questions raised by Connery’s sporadic association with the franchise still haven’t fully gone away. It’s likely that James Bond movie canon would always have experienced this confusion even if Connery had stayed away once he quit, but the actor only reinforced the uncertainty with a movie later in his career.

1983’s Never Say Never Again Was Connery’s Second Thunderball Movie

Never Say Never Again marked an unofficial James Bond comeback for Sean Connery

1965’s Thunderball was Sean Connery’s fourth James Bond movie. However, that didn’t stop him from appearing as Bond in another adaptation of the Ian Fleming novel that went by the same name. Never Say Never Again was released in 1983, and starred Connery taking on the Thunderball storyline for a second time. To complicate matters even further, Never Say Never Again wasn’t produced by EON, and as such, it isn’t considered to be part of the official James Bond canon.

Fleming’s original Thunderball novel was based on a short story that he wrote with two other writers, one of whom was named Kevin McClory. Never Say Never Again had McClory on board as a producer, who had retained the filming rights to the original short story. The movie could have been interpreted as nothing more than a fan film if a new leading man had been cast, but having Sean Connery reprise the role of James Bond away from the main series seriously complicates matters. At least, it would do if it weren’t retreading the same narrative ground.

Bond Canon Never Truly Recovered Until The Daniel Craig Era

Daniel Craig’s James Bond was recognizably different from previous versions of the character

James Bond‘s continuity continued to become murkier and murkier in the years that followed Never Say Never Again, and while EON was clear that the movie wasn’t canon to their timeline, the production company never confirmed or denied whether the various actors were all playing the same man. The closest fans got to EON clearing things up was when they cast Daniel Craig as James Bond. The start of Daniel Craig’s James Bond timeline came when he debuted as 007 in 2006’s Casino Royale, and the movie made it obvious that the franchise had been reset.

The tone and aesthetic of Casino Royale and the rest of Daniel Craig’s era were so far removed from that of his predecessors that it became very difficult to interpret Bond‘s new age as anything other than the beginning of a new timeline. Additionally, the ending of 2021’s No Time to Die, Craig’s final outing as James Bond, makes it clear that his version of the character dies. As such, Craig can’t return to James Bond like Sean Connery did and twist up the canon for decades to come.