The Battle for Bond deal with Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli: "Thunderball" (1965) that was released at Christmas. McClory's court victory also entitled him to remake "Thunderball" (1965) as "Never Say Never Again" (1983), again with Sean Connery as James Bond, the cinematic competition Broccoli had tried to legally ban. With the remake, McClory attempted to continue with his own James Bond film series, but was stopped after legal action by Broccoli and MGM. In a later unsuccessful lawsuit, McClory went further and now claimed that he created the cinematic James Bond, and demanded a share of the three billion dollars earned by
James Bond filmography by Connery, was selected as the third-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute. When Sean Connery had been cast in November 1961, David Niven had been Fleming's choice for the role as the actor reflected his image of the character. In 1965 producer Charles Feldman signed Niven to play Sir James Bond for "Casino Royale", a film not made by Eon Productions. Connery and Peter Sellers had both turned down the role. Niven was 56 when he played Bond and his characterisation was that of an elderly man who had won the Victoria Cross at the Siege