Never Say Never Again -james Bond - 007-

Development Report: Never Say Never Again (1983)

1. Production Context: The "War of the Bonds"

"Never Say Never Again" is unique in the Bond canon because it is not an "official" Eon Productions film. It exists due to a legal battle that began in the 1960s.

Plot Summary: Nostalgia Refitted

Never Say Never Again does not hide its DNA. It is a modernized (for 1983) retelling of Thunderball. SPECTRA (spelled with an ‘A’ in this version for legal reasons) steals two nuclear warheads. Bond, pulled from a dull retirement spent at a health farm, must track down the villainous Maximillian Largo and the deadly femme fatale Domino Petachi. Never Say Never Again -James Bond 007-

Key Adversaries: Bond faces off against the eccentric Maximilian Largo and the deadly assassin Fatima Blush. Distinguishing Features

Where to Watch: You can currently stream "Never Say Never Again" on various platforms, including: Development Report: Never Say Never Again (1983) 1

The film is essentially a remake of 1965’s Thunderball. Due to a long-standing legal battle over rights between writer Ian Fleming and producer Kevin McClory, McClory was permitted to produce his own adaptation of the story. This is why the film lacks the iconic gun-barrel opening, the "007 Theme," and other trademark Eon elements. The Review: What Works and What Doesn’t Never Say Never Again (1983) - IMDb

Director: Irvin Kershner, who had previously directed The Empire Strikes Back. Plot Summary: Nostalgia Refitted Never Say Never Again

Director: Irvin Kershner (who also directed The Empire Strikes Back).

The post was bleak, its metal ribs exposed to wind. Bond fed false activation data through a dead satellite relay, letting it leak into the black market channels only a mind like Blackbird’s could parse. On the third night, she answered—not with an army but with a single ship, black as a thought.