One James Bond star wanted to take his talents beyond acting as he wrote his very own 007 film – but it was never made.
In 1976, a Bond screenplay, written by original super spy actor Sean Connery, revolved around a shoal of remote-controlled, nuclear-weaponised robo-sharks but it never made it to screens.
The unreleased film originally went under the title of James Bond Of The Secret Service before becoming Warhead. The film was based on the Ian Fleming novel, which had been developed as an original screenplay with writers Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham.
Paramount, the producers and the press were all very eager to see the return of Sean Connery – despite him being in a writing role rather than an acting role.
For a while, it looked as if the film would be made, possibly with Alfred Hitchcock at the helm and Richard Burton playing the Secret Service’s top agent and Martini aficionado.
The movie had some huge scenes planned, including 007 wresting mechanical sharks in the waters of New York City and paragliding onto the Statue of Liberty’s resplendent head to battle the disposable henchmen of the Spectre organisation.
However, the much-anticipated movie ran into legal issues that stopped it from ever being created.
The plot was reportedly too similiar to one being developed for EON’s next Roger Moore Bond adventure The Spy Who Loved Me. EON also claimed Warhead deviated too much from Thunderball’s plot, leading to years of legal headaches.
McClory took out an injunction against Eon’s film, but Eon had already taken out an injunction against his, so each side was now claiming that the opposition had pinched their material.
Meanwhile, two producers named Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had launched their own series of Bond movies starring Connery, meaning that the star pulled out of Warhead and Paramount did too.
In recent times, another British actor has been pipped to become the next James Bond after Daniel Craig stepped down from the infamous role back in 2021.
Previously, Hollywood icons Henry Cavil, Tom Hardy, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have all been tipped to replace Daniel Craig as the infamous 007. But a surprising new name has been pitched to film execs that could see a new man step into the role.
Scottish actor Stuart Martin, 39, has quickly become a top contender according to sources.
An insider told the Mail: “Stuart is the name that has been discussed in Bond circles by those in the know. He is in serious contention.”