10 Movie Franchises Hollywood Will Never Let Die
4. James Bond
James Bond has been cinema's pre-eminent spy franchise since 1962 and no matter how good the Bournes and Mission: Impossibles of this world have been over the years, no other espionage series has come anywhere close to knocking 007 off his perch.
Next year marks another impressive milestone for Bond as it brings the twenty-fifth (official) installment in the franchise. For over 50 years the character has remained relevant thanks to several recastings, plenty of fresh perspectives and constant reinvention to move with the times, and there is no reason why the series won't continue for another 50 if it avoids becoming stale.
Sure, there have been creative missteps along the way, but none of the movies have outright tanked at the box office and the franchise has banked over $7bn in the process, proving over the course of half a century that there will always be an audience willing to part with their cash to watch the adventures of 007.
With 24 movies and 56 years of service under his belt so far, James Bond is more than capable of remaining an important figure of cinema for the next half-century and beyond.