The films were released in entirely the wrong order

The James Bond movie franchise began with 1962’s Dr. No, but this wasn’t how Bond began in print. Published in 1958, Dr. No was actually author Ian Fleming’s sixth Bond novel. Fleming introduced the character in 1953’s Casino Royale – which wasn’t filmed as part of the official Bond film series until 2006. In between, Fleming’s 007 stories were made into films entirely out of order.

Fleming’s Moonraker story wasn’t about space at all

When Moonraker was filmed in 1979, the producers added an outer space element to cash in on the recent popularity of Star Wars. This was very far removed from Fleming’s 1955 novel, in which the Moonraker of the title is not a spacecraft but a nuclear missile project, the villain Hugo Drax is a German scientist working for the USSR, and no one goes to space.

Dr. No’s Honey Ryder first appeared naked in the book

Ursula Andress emerging from the sea in a white bikini in Dr. No has long been considered one of the sexiest moments in film history, but it’s a bit milder than what Ian Fleming originally had in mind. In the book, Andress’ character Honey Ryder is introduced swimming nude. Another scene omitted from the film sees Honey pegged down to be fed to beach crabs.

The Spy Who Loved Me completely abandons the book’s plot

1962’s The Spy Who Loved Me was Fleming’s tenth Bond book, and a major break from series convention with more graphic sex and violence than the earlier books. Fleming came to regret writing this novel, and only agreed to sell the film rights on the condition that the filmmakers come up with a brand new story, hence the 1977 movie is completely different.

SPECTRE weren’t introduced until much later in the novels

In the film of Dr. No, Joseph Wiseman’s titular villain reveals he is a member of SPECTRE, the criminal organisation behind the main antagonists of the early Connery Bond films. In print, however, Fleming didn’t introduce SPECTRE until 1961’s Thunderball, the ninth novel. In most of the early books, Bond generally battled SMERSH, a real-life intelligence agency from Stalin-era Soviet Russia.

In the novel, Goldfinger actually robs Fort Knox

Viewers of 1964’s Goldfinger will remember that, rather than steal the US gold reserve from Fort Knox, the criminal mastermind intends to make it radioactive, thereby increasing the value of his own gold and destabilising the western economy. This, however, was all the idea of screenwriter Richard Maibaum, as Fleming’s original novel actually saw Goldfinger steal the gold, which was widely criticised as implausible.

Felix Leiter was originally mauled by a shark in Live and Let Die

One of the recurring characters in the Bond movies and books is Felix Leiter, CIA agent and friend of Bond. The second book, 1954’s Live and Let Die, sees Leiter fed to a shark; his almost-dead body is left for Bond with the note ‘He disagreed with something that ate him.’ This scene did not make it to film until 1989’s Licence to Kill.

You Only Live Twice originally saw Bond get amnesia and become a Russian agent

Until the Daniel Craig era, the Bond movies had very little narrative continuity. In the books, however, the events of the previous entry often had more impact on the next, notably in You Only Live Twice, which ends on Bond losing his memory and going to Russia. Follow-up book The Man with the Golden Gun then begins with a brainwashed Bond sent to assassinate M.

Jaws was originally called Horror

Although the filmmakers completely abandoned the plot of The Spy Who Loved Me at Fleming’s request, there was one character in the book that they found interesting: Sol ‘Horror’ Horowitz, a very tall, violent thug with steel-capped teeth. Recognising his cinematic potential, the filmmakers brought this character into the movie, renamed Jaws in light-hearted homage to the 1975 blockbuster shark movie.

The card game in Casino Royale was supposed to be baccarat

In the original 1954 novel Casino Royale, Bond goes up against the villainous Le Chiffre in a high stakes game of baccarat. Bond is in fact playing this very game in his first film appearance at the start of 1962’s Dr. No. However, by 2006 baccarat was deemed too obscure for modern audiences to follow, hence it was changed to Texas hold ’em poker.