007
James Bond is a fictional British secret agent created by novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He works for MI6, the British foreign intelligence service, and carries the codename 007. The double zero marks an agent with a licence to kill in the field. His first appearance was in the novel Casino Royale. Nine years later he reached the screen in Dr. No (1962), played by Sean Connery.
Across the official Eon Productions film series, seven actors have worn the tuxedo: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. The character has long outgrown his creator. Twenty-five films, dozens of continuation novels by other authors, a long history of video games, and one of the most recognizable theme songs in cinema all sit under the same name.
What makes 007 useful to explore is how cleanly it splits across all five pillars. Films and music are obvious. The books are the origin. Games kept the character alive between film releases. Television, oddly, never quite figured out what to do with him. That gap is part of the story too.
Film
Twenty-five films from Eon Productions, plus two non-Eon productions. Track the full catalogue on Letterboxd.
Eon Productions:
- Dr. No (1962)
- From Russia with Love (1963)
- Goldfinger (1964)
- Thunderball (1965)
- You Only Live Twice (1967)
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
- Live and Let Die (1973)
- The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
- Moonraker (1979)
- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
- Octopussy (1983)
- A View to a Kill (1985)
- The Living Daylights (1987)
- Licence to Kill (1989)
- GoldenEye (1995)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- The World Is Not Enough (1999)
- Die Another Day (2002)
- Casino Royale (2006)
- Quantum of Solace (2008)
- Skyfall (2012)
- Spectre (2015)
- No Time to Die (2021)
Non-Eon:
- Casino Royale (1967)
- Never Say Never Again (1983)
Series
Two television projects. No scripted drama yet. Track what exists on MustApp.
- James Bond Jr. (1991, animated)
- 007: Road to a Million (2023, reality)
A scripted Bond series has been discussed for years but never produced.
Books
Fourteen Ian Fleming titles, plus decades of continuation novels and spin-offs. Track your reading on Hardcover.
Ian Fleming:
- Casino Royale (1953)
- Live and Let Die (1954)
- Moonraker (1955)
- Diamonds Are Forever (1956)
- From Russia, with Love (1957)
- Dr. No (1958)
- Goldfinger (1959)
- For Your Eyes Only (1960, short stories)
- Thunderball (1961)
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1962)
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963)
- You Only Live Twice (1964)
- The Man with the Golden Gun (1965)
- Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966, short stories)
Continuation authors:
- Kingsley Amis
- John Gardner (16 novels)
- Raymond Benson (6 novels)
- Sebastian Faulks
- Jeffery Deaver
- William Boyd
- Anthony Horowitz (3 novels)
Spin-offs:
- Young Bond (Charlie Higson)
- The Moneypenny Diaries (Samantha Weinberg)
Games
Twelve titles released, plus one in development. Track your backlog on postgame.
- GoldenEye 007 (1997)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1999)
- The World Is Not Enough (2000)
- Agent Under Fire (2001)
- Nightfire (2002)
- Everything or Nothing (2004)
- GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004)
- From Russia with Love (2005)
- Quantum of Solace (2008)
- Blood Stone (2010)
- GoldenEye 007: Reloaded (2011)
- 007 Legends (2012)
- Project 007 (IO Interactive, in development)
Music
Twenty-four theme songs, plus the composers who scored the films. Listen on Apple Music.
Theme songs:
- James Bond Theme (Monty Norman, 1962)
- From Russia with Love (Matt Monro, 1963)
- Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey, 1964)
- Thunderball (Tom Jones, 1965)
- You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra, 1967)
- Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey, 1971)
- Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney and Wings, 1973)
- The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu, 1974)
- Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon, 1977)
- Moonraker (Shirley Bassey, 1979)
- For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton, 1981)
- All Time High (Rita Coolidge, 1983)
- A View to a Kill (Duran Duran, 1985)
- The Living Daylights (a-ha, 1987)
- Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight, 1989)
- GoldenEye (Tina Turner, 1995)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow, 1997)
- The World Is Not Enough (Garbage, 1999)
- Die Another Day (Madonna, 2002)
- You Know My Name (Chris Cornell, 2006)
- Another Way to Die (Jack White and Alicia Keys, 2008)
- Skyfall (Adele, 2012)
- Writing’s on the Wall (Sam Smith, 2015)
- No Time to Die (Billie Eilish, 2020)
Composers:
- Monty Norman
- John Barry (11 films)
- George Martin
- Bill Conti
- Michael Kamen
- Eric Serra
- David Arnold (5 films)
- Thomas Newman
- Hans Zimmer