James Bond the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), and the single most successful adjusted for inflation. In 1967 "Casino Royale" was adapted into a parody Bond film starring David Niven as Sir James Bond and Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd. Niven had been Fleming's preference for the role of Bond. The result of a court case in the High Court in London in 1963 allowed Kevin McClory to produce a remake of "Thunderball" titled "Never Say Never Again" in 1983. The film, produced by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm production company and starring Sean Connery as Bond, was not part of the Eon
James Bond filmography roses". In line with the literary Bond, Niven's character drives a vintage Bentley, rather than the Aston Martin favoured by Connery. Bond scholar Steven Jay Rubin thought Niven perfectly cast as the retired Bond, and saw him as "a throw-back to the hell-for-leather adventure heroes" of the character, which paralleled Niven's own life and career. Barnes and Hearn describe this as a "perfectly fair interpretation", given the way Niven approached the role, while Raymond Benson thinks casting Niven was "intelligent". Jeremy Black questioned the use of Niven in the role, observing that he did not seem to be a killer,