James Bond in film Deighton together with Sean Connery to work on a script. The script ran into difficulties after accusations from Eon Productions that the project had gone beyond copyright restrictions, which confined McClory to a film based on the "Thunderball" novel only, and once again the project was deferred. Towards the end of the 1970s developments were reported on the project under the name "James Bond of the Secret Service", but then producer Jack Schwartzman became involved and cleared a number of the legal issues that still surrounded the project and licensed the rights from McClory. With Connery still committed to the
Sean Connery The casting choice derives from a joke Michael Palin included in the script, in which he describes the character removing his mask as being "Sean Connery — or someone of equal but cheaper stature". When shown the script, Connery was happy to play the supporting role. In 1982, Connery narrated "G'olé!", the official film of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Connery agreed to reprise Bond as an aging agent 007 in "Never Say Never Again", released in October 1983. The title, contributed by his wife, refers to his earlier statement that he would "never again" play Bond. Although the film