The James Bond series focuses on James Bond, a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, and Anthony Horowitz. The latest novel is With a Mind to Kill by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2022. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny.
The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced "double-oh-seven")—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are one of the longest continually running film series and have grossed over US7.04billionintotalattheboxoffice,makingitthefifth−highest−grossingfilmseriestodate,whichstartedin1962withDr.No,starringSeanConneryasBond.,therehavebeentwenty−fivefilmsintheEonProductionsseries.ThemostrecentBondfilm,NoTimetoDie(2021),starsDanielCraiginhisfifthportrayalofBond;heisthesixthactortoplayBondintheEonseries.TherehavealsobeentwoindependentBondfilmproductions:CasinoRoyale(a1967spoofstarringDavidNiven)andNeverSayNeverAgain(a1983remakeofanearlierEon−producedfilm,1965′sThunderball,bothstarringConnery).In2015,theserieswasestimatedtobeworth19.9 billion in total (based on box-office grosses, DVD sales and merchandise tie-ins), making James Bond one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. Casino Royale has also been adapted for television, as a one-hour show in 1954 as part of the CBS series Climax!.
The Bond films are renowned for a number of features, including their soundtracks, with the theme songs having received Academy Award nominations on several occasions, and three wins.
