- Comic strip (1961–1962)
A comic strip adaptation was published daily in the Daily Express newspaper and syndicated worldwide, beginning on 11 December 1961.[52] The owner of the Daily Express, Lord Beaverbrook, cancelled the strip[53] on 10 February 1962[52] after Fleming signed an agreement with The Sunday Times for them to publish the short story "The Living Daylights".[53] Thunderball was reprinted in 2005 by Titan Books as part of the Dr. No anthology that also includes Diamonds Are Forever and From Russia, with Love.[54]
- Thunderball (1965)
In 1965 the film Thunderball was released, starring Sean Connery as James Bond. The film was produced as the fourth Eon Productions film and, as well as listing Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman as producers, Kevin McClory was also included in the production team: Broccoli and Saltzman made a deal with McClory, to undertake a joint production of Thunderball, which stopped McClory from making any further version of the novel for a period of ten years following the release of the Eon-produced version.[55] Thunderball premiered in Tokyo on 9 December 1965, grossing $141.2 million at the global box office.[56]
- Never Say Never Again (1983)
In 1983 Kevin McClory produced a version of the Thunderball story, again with Sean Connery as Bond.[57] The film premiered in New York on 7 October 1983,[58] grossing $9.72 million ($30 million in 2023 dollars[59]) on its first weekend,[60] which was reported to be "the best opening record of any James Bond film"[60] up to that point.
- Warhead (1990s)
In the 1990s McClory announced plans to make another adaptation of the Thunderball story, Warhead 2000 AD, with Timothy Dalton or Liam Neeson in the lead role, but this was eventually dropped.[61][62]
