The planned sequel to "unofficial" James Bond adventure Never Say Never Again used a title later claimed by a Daniel Craig-era adventure. The role of Bond made Sean Connery a movie star, but the actor had mixed feelings about his time with the series. He was uncomfortable with the level of fame it brought and clashed with producers over his level of compensation. He exited the role following the fifth outing You Only Live Twice, but was later lured back for 1971's Diamonds Are Forever, after his successor George Lazenby exited after only one movie.
Connery famously stated he would "never" return to the part following Diamonds Are Forever - which was Roger Moore's favorite Bond - but he was eventually lured back for 1983's Never Say Never Again. The tongue-in-cheek title was suggested by Connery's wife Micheline, concerning Connery's previous declaration. Never Say Never Again was the result of a long road by writer/producer Kevin McClory to produce a Bond movie outside of the EON franchise. McClory, alongside a writer named Jack Whittingham, had collaborated with author Ian Fleming on a Bond screenplay that formed the basis of Thunderball. After this film project was abandoned, Fleming reused its plot for his own novel without crediting his co-writers, leading to McClory suing and claiming the movie rights.
He won and later became the producer of the 1965 adaptation of Thunderball. This agreement also stated he could remake the movie after ten years, as producers assumed the franchise would have been over by then. Instead, McClory waited a decade before embarking on the project that eventually became Never Say Never Again - which has never been in a Bond boxset. He managed to bring back Connery, with the film being released the same year as EON Bond Octopussy starring Moore. While the latter won that box-office battle, Never Say Never Again still performed very well. McClory planned on his own series of Bond adventures, announcing in 1984 that S.P.E.C.T.R.E. would be the next movie.
McClory's rights also prevented the use of Blofeld and SPECTRE in the EON movies, leading to them to being written out of 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. Never Say Never Again itself would prove to be the final appearance of Blofeld (played by Max Von Sydow) and his criminal organization until 2015's fitting titled James Bond movie. Sadly, few details are available as to McClory's plans for S.P.E.C.T.R.E., and it's possible that given the legal restrictions on what could and couldn't be used in Never Say Never Again - for example, it lacked the famous Gunbarrel opening - it would have had to reuse Thunderball's basic story again.
Legal complications surrounding S.P.E.C.T.R.E. are one possible reason it didn't happen, but another is Connery himself. The actor had something of a stressful time making the movie, as it felt it was underfunded and he had to take on certain production duties himself. In interviews following Never Say Never Again, he didn't sound eager to return once again, and as producers were trying to mount S.P.E.C.T.R.E. he made it clear he was completely done with 007. McClory still spent years following Never Say Never Again planning another movie - including entering a deal with Sony for a rival Bond series in the late '90s - but no other unofficial films were ultimately made.
