20 Things You Didn’t Know About Thunderball (1965)

16. James Bond Will Return?

Thunderball Domino
MGM/UA

The end credits to Thunderball finish very abruptly.

This was not due to the overall running time of the film, but because they had identified that James Bond would be returning in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. This followed Ian Fleming’s original “Blofeld Trilogy” which ran from the 1961 novel, Thunderball to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1963, and finally the 1964 book, You Only Live Twice.

However, when it was discovered that the snow levels in Switzerland were not conducive with adapting the 1963 novel, it was decided to skip ahead to You Only Live Twice (1967) for the next instalment.

Instead of changing the end titles on a short timeframe prior to the release of Thunderball, supervising editor, Peter R. Hunt recommended that the announcement of the next Bond film should simply be trimmed away.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.