The fictitious British Secret Service agent at the center of the James Bond series was conceived by author Ian Fleming in 1953 and has appeared in twelve novels and two collections of short stories. Eight other authors—Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffrey Deaver, William Boyd, and Anthony Horowitz—have authored approved Bond books or novelizations since Fleming’s passing in 1964. Anthony Horowitz’s most recent book, With a Mind to Kill, was released in May 2022. In addition, Kate Westbrook penned three novels based on the journals of Moneypenny, a recurring series character, while Charlie Higson authored a trilogy about a young James Bond.

The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced “double-oh-seven”)—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are one of the longest continually running film series and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total at the box office, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film series to date, which started in 1962 with Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2021, there have been twenty-five films in the Eon Productions series. The most recent Bond film, No Time to Die (2021), stars Daniel Craig in his fifth portrayal of Bond; he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also been two independent productions of Bond films: Casino Royale (a 1967 spoof starring David Niven) and Never Say Never Again (a 1983 remake of an earlier Eon-produced film, 1965’s Thunderball, both starring Connery). In 2015, the series was estimated to be worth $19.9 billion in total (based on box-office grosses, DVD sales and merchandise tie-ins), making James Bond one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.