Are you scratching your head wondering what order to watch the James Bond movies in?
Don’t know your GoldenEye from your Goldenfinger? Not sure if Octopussy comes before Dr. No?
Well, if this is you then fear not, this post will help you work out the correct viewing order for all of the James Bond movies!
Below is a guide to all the different viewing orders for the James Bond movies. There are multiple guides as there are multiple paths you could take with this series, depending on what continuity you want to follow.
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Viewing Order One – The original Bond timeline
This first viewing order includes all of the films that are set within the continuity of the original Bond timeline. This continuity spans a 40 year time period, covers 20 films and runs from 1962’s Dr. No through to 2002’s Die Another Die.
The Bond actors featured in this timeline include Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Sir Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. To date, this is the longest run of continuity in the series.
The order is as follows:
- Dr. No (1962) – Sean Connery as Bond
- From Russia with Love (1963) – Sean Connery as Bond
- Goldfinger (1964) – Sean Connery as Bond
- Thunderball (1965) – Sean Connery as Bond
- You Only Live Twice (1967) – Sean Connery as Bond
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) – George Lazenby as Bond
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971) – Sean Connery as Bond
- Live and Let Die (1973) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- Moonraker (1979) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- For Your Eyes Only (1981) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- Octopussy (1983) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- A View To A Kill (1985) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- The Living Daylights (1987) – Timothy Dalton as Bond
- Licence to Kill (1989) – Timothy Dalton as Bond
- GoldenEye (1995) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
- The World Is Not Enough (1999) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
- Die Another Day (2002) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
While five different actors play James Bond in this viewing order, all of the actors are playing the SAME version of James Bond. The Bond who appears in Dr. No (Sean Connery) is the same Bond who appears in Die Another Day (Pierce Brosnan).
And now to answer a couple of common questions about this particular viewing order:
Why did Sean Connery appear in You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, but not in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service?
After a run of five movies, Sean Connery quit the role of James Bond, paving the way for actor George Lazenby to take over from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service onward. However, Lazenby quit after just one movie and Connery was enticed back for one more production before moving over for Sir Roger Moore.
Why does the end credits of The Spy Who Loved Me include the disclaimer: “James Bond Will Return in For Your Eyes Only“, when the next movie in the series is Moonraker?
While For Your Eyes Only was originally intended to be the next Bond movie after The Spy Who Loved Me (as noted on screen), Eon Productions opted to produce Moonraker instead to cash-in on the interest in science fiction movies. Star Wars was extremely popular at the time, so it made more sense to produce a sci-fi Bond film while the sci-fi genre was experiencing a spike in popularity.
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Viewing Order Two – The second Bond timeline
Following the conclusion of Die Another Day (2002), the producers of the Bond series decided it was time to reboot the series, rather than continue with the existing continuity. This second viewing order covers all of the films under this second timeline, beginning with 2006’s Casino Royale.
This second viewing order includes all of the films that are set within the rebooted continuity.
The order is as follows:
- Casino Royale (2006) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- Quantum of Solace (2008) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- Skyfall (2012) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- Spectre (2015) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- No Time To Die (2021) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
To date, there are five Bond movies within this second timeline and all five feature Daniel Craig as James Bond 007.
And now to answer a couple of common questions about this particular viewing order:
Is Daniel Craig playing a different James Bond?
Yes. While Craig is playing Bond, his Bond is different to the James Bond that appears in Viewing Order One.
If Daniel Craig is playing a different James Bond in Casino Royale, why is Dame Judi Dench still playing the role of M – a character she first played in GoldenEye?
The producers/director liked Dench’s work in the previous Bond continuity and decided to retain her when they rebooted the series. The actress is still playing M, but it’s effectively a different M in this timeline.
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Viewing Order Three – The Bond anomalies
In addition to the 24 official Bond films, there have been two unofficial productions – i.e. films NOT produced by Ion Productions.
These films are as follows: Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again (1983).
- Casino Royale (1967) – David Niven as James Bond
Casino Royale was produced by Famous Artists Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The movie was envisioned as a spoof of the James Bond series, with multiple actors portraying Bond (David Niven, Peter Sellers etc).
MGM is now the owner of the movie but the studio does not class it as an official entry in any of the Bond timelines.
- Never Say Never Again (1983) – Sean Connery as James Bond
Twelve years after walking away from the Bond series, Sean Connery returned to the role of 007 for one additional production – Never Say Never Again. The film – a remake of Thunderball – was produced by Taliafilm & Producers Sales Organization and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
As with Casino Royale, MGM is now the owner of the movie but does not class it as an official entry in any of the Bond timelines.
Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again are NOT connected to each other, so they can be viewed as separate entities, they can be viewed together (outside of the regular continuity) or they can simply be ignored. The choice is yours!
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Viewing Order Four – The Bond movies in production order
This final viewing order contains ALL 27 films, covering both official and unofficial James Bond pictures.
The benefit of choosing this order is that you get to watch all the movies that have been produced. The downside (as noted above) is that they don’t all follow on from each other, so things can get confusing if you’re not aware of the anomalies or the rebooted series.
The order is as follows:
- Dr. No (1962) – Sean Connery as Bond
- From Russia with Love (1963) – Sean Connery as Bond
- Goldfinger (1964) – Sean Connery as Bond
- Thunderball (1965) – Sean Connery as Bond
- Casino Royale (1967) – David Niven as Bond
- You Only Live Twice (1967) – Sean Connery as Bond
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) – George Lazenby as Bond
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971) – Sean Connery as Bond
- Live and Let Die (1973) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- Moonraker (1979) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- For Your Eyes Only (1981) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- Octopussy (1983) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- Never Say Never Again (1983) – Sean Connery as Bond
- A View To A Kill (1985) – Sir Roger Moore as Bond
- The Living Daylights (1987) – Timothy Dalton as Bond
- Licence to Kill (1989) – Timothy Dalton as Bond
- GoldenEye (1995) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
- The World Is Not Enough (1999) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
- Die Another Day (2002) – Pierce Brosnan as Bond
- Casino Royale (2006) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- Quantum of Solace (2008) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- Skyfall (2012) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- Spectre (2015) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
- No Time To Die (2021) – Daniel Craig as James Bond
And now you know!
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And if you’re running a little behind on the movies and want to play catch-up, you may wish to know that Amazon UK has The James Bond Collection 1-24 Blu-ray boxset available (as does Amazon US). The set includes 24 official Bond movies, covering Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton and Craig.
This release doesn’t include the unofficial Bond movies, so there’s no Casino Royale ’67 or Never Say Never Again, but those films will never be packaged up with the official titles, so this is the definitive collection. Each Blu-ray is loaded with extras too, so it’s a good way to explore the world of Bond.
So, which order do you prefer?
Do you like to watch all the movies in production order, or do you pick one of the other options? Sound off in the comments section below and share your thoughts.
Until next time, happy viewing!
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6 Responses to What is the best order to watch the James Bond movies?
You did answer one of my questions which is actually the reason I found your page. I just watched the spy who loved me on Netflix and it said for your eyes only but the Google search that I found said next was Moonraker so I’m glad you answered that question. But the question that you didn’t address is why in the world in on her Majesty‘s Secret Service does bond not recognize Blofeld and vice versa? Also The whole thing about his wife dying completely ignored in the next couple additions until it was mentioned in passing in the spy who loved me. Random bit to throw in and then ignore
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Yeah, it doesn’t make the greatest sense, does it? Bond was supposed to be in disguise in OHMSS, so that’s why Blofeld didn’t recognise him. As for his wife’s death, Bond got revenge on Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever and then that was kind of that storyline done. Roger Moore then took over as Bond and the series went in a new direction. The way I see it, with each new Bond the series does a tiny soft reboot so that audiences don’t have to worry too much about what has come before.
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Bond movies now are now like personal attacks on Bond and M, nothing to do about business or trying to “own the world” with new technology. There was one movie where M was imprisoned by a girl, Electra! Then Skyfall is about Bond’s parental home (To me that was the most boring Bond movie of all time). Instead of sophisticated tools, Bond and M have to use nails and other homemade weapons, a bit like an “A team” episode for TV. Then SPECTRE is about Bond’s childhood again. Blofeld apparently looked after Bond after his parents died! (Nothing like that in the original movie) He even says “Cookoo” (twice). How boring.
The original Bond movies were much better, typically those that cast Bernard Lee as M where M’s role was quite small.
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I think there has definitely been a shift in storytelling for Bond, but I believe that this is more a result of the times we live in. In the old movies the villains wanted to take over the world etc, but as lampooned in the Austin Powers movies, doing that makes no financial success. The stories have had to rethink things and personalise the stories more. No doubt they will change tactics again in the future, but perhaps that’s what Bond needs to do to ensure the series remains relevant in an age of super heroes, Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne etc.
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Why can’t you simply list the movies I order (12345’etc) ?
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Hi Jerry, the Bond films don’t include numbers, so I have listed them the best way possible. If you are asking why I’ve not added numbers to the list such as 1) Dr No, 2) From Russia with Love etc, then I feel it isn’t necessary as people can work their way down the list with or without numbers. However I have taken on board what you said and appreciate the feedback. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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