In 1983 Bond fans got a unique treat – two Bond films in the same year and each starring the most popular Bond’s – Roger Moore and Sean Connery!
Octopussy would be the official EON release and would mark Roger Moore’s sixth portrayal of 007. Meanwhile, a legal loophole allowed producer Kevin McClory to make a remake of Thunderball.
At first George Lazenby was considered to be asked to reprise the role of James Bond, however as luck would have it Connery’s film career was in desperate need of a hit. What better way of getting some renewed attention than to return to the role he defined years ago. Never Say Never Again would mark Connery’s seventh portrayal of the character.
The stage was set for Connery and Moore to duke it out at the box office and see who would come out on top.
I’ve always found this scenario fascinating. Two Bond films going head to head in the same year with the original actors is something that seems like a casual fan ‘what if’ game. But this time it actually happened.
Of course I’m building it up a bit more than it actually was. The films were released several months apart and each were hits. This is a scenario we’re probably never going to see happen again. Can you imagine Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan each having competing Bond films in the same year?
Here, I take a quick look at this Battle of the Bonds. Half of this video review was removed from Youtube, but here’s the whole thing in its entirety.
