How many James Bond movies are there? The answer might surprise you

Technically, if we count EON feature films and non-EON films, there are, as of this writing, 27 movies featuring the character of James Bond in the lead role. That list includes the following:

1. Dr. No (1962)
2. From Russia With Love (1963)
3. Goldfinger (1964)
4. Thunderball (1965)
5. You Only Live Twice (1967)
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
8. Live and Let Die (1973)
9. The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)
10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
11. Moonraker (1979)
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
13. Octopussy (1983)
14. A View to a Kill (1985)
15. The Living Daylights (1987)
16. Licence to Kill (1989)
17. GoldenEye (1995)
18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
19. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
20. Die Another Day (2002)
21. Casino Royale (2006)
22. Quantum of Solace (2008)
23. Skyfall (2012)
24. Spectre (2015)
25. No Time to Die (2021)

As you can see, the "official" EON-produced James Bond movies include 25 films. You get to 27 by including the following:

• Casino Royale (1967)
• Never Say Never Again (1983)

So, what's the deal with these two other random Bond movies?

Why There Are Actually Three Live-Action Versions of Casino Royale 

Although most associate the 2006 Daniel Craig modern classic with the title Casino Royale, there were, in fact, two prior versions of the story filmed prior. Back in 1954, a TV episode of an anthology TV series called Climax! included an adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale as a standalone 50-minute story. This Casino Royale starred Barry Nelson as James Bond, and, in this version, 007 was an American agent. This black-and-white Casino Royale is somewhat lost to time, and rarely makes it into anyone's lists of he best Bond ever. However, it was the first live-action Bond, even if it wasn't a movie, but rather a TV episode. (No one would count the1954 Casino Royale as a Bond movie, because it's not a movie.)

The second Casino Royale was the 1967 spoof film, which starred David Niven as an older, sillier James Bond coming out of retirement. The movie also notably starred comedy legend Peter Sellers, as well as the original Dr. No Bond girl, Ursula Andress.

So, while the 1967 Casino Royale is very much a real, full-length movie, it's very obviously a spoof of the James Bond brand, with several characters all adopting the name "James Bond" in a convoluted and absurdist plot, which, while entertaining, is again, very rarely on the list of great Bond films for anyone.

Obviously, the 2006 Casino Royale is the third version filmed, but the first that actually attempted to adapt Fleming's original novel, the 1953 book that started it all.

Sean Connery's Never Say Never Again, Explained

In 1983, a full 12 years after he played James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever, Connery again returned to the role of Bond, this time, in a remake of Thunderball called Never Say Never Again. In this movie, Connery played a version of Bond who was coming out of retirement to save the world one more time. However, because the plot was largely copied from Thunderball, fans noticed many similarities, which was all because producer Kevin McClory had tenuous, partial story rights to Thunderball, since he allegedly helped Ian Fleming with the novel, way back in 1961.

Never Say Never Again does not contain the famous James Bond theme music, nor any of the music that fans would associate with the franchise. And while Connery puts in a decent performance — the film was directed by Empire Strikes Back legend Irvin Kershner — it remains an oddity in the Bond universe. And, despite the nostalgic love for Sean Connery, Never Say Never Again was in theaters the same year as the official EON Bond movie of 1983, Roger Moore's Octopussy. It's tough to say which of these lower-tier Bonds is better, but Octopussy did beat Never Say Never Again at the box office.

In any case, even though the 1967 Casino Royale and 1983's Never Say Never Again are feature films, featuring characters named James Bond, until the first Amazon MGM Bond film hits theaters in a few years, most fans will still say there are only 25 movies in total.

Where to Stream All the James Bond Movies

The 25 official James Bond movies are streaming on Prime Video. Never Say Never Again can be rented on Fandango, YouTube, and elsewhere. The 1967 version of Casino Royale is streaming on Tubi.