Icons Unearthed: James Bond

James Bond began with real life spy and anxious bridegroom, Ian Fleming. But it would take a bumpy road to bring this spy story to the screen. An unlikely team finds an unknown Scottish actor and faces down a troubled production to change cinema forever.

Despite their wild success the cracks begin to show. With the departure of their star, Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman must find a new actor to play the super-spy, adding tension to a strained relationship. How disastrous can their new choice be?

Though diamonds may be forever, Connery wasn’t. The producers need a new star and their choice revolutionizes the character. Embracing the cultural changes of the 70s takes Bond to new heights, but for one producer it would be the end of an era.

With an aging actor in the lead and a new director in charge, the Battle of the Bonds divides the franchise before a new gritty take on the character nearly drives it to ruin. But it's the studio that threatens to deliver the finishing blow to Bond.

With the troubles of the 80s behind them, is there a place for Bond in the modern world? With a new generation of producers in charge and the fate of the studio in their hands, can Pierce Brosnan defy expectations and revitalize the franchise?

Producers make a risky bet and forgo the tried-and-true formula. Acquiring the long-estranged film rights to Fleming’s first novel, Casino Royale, they recast Bond with the least likely actor imagined and see if they can reinvent the spy one more time.