In the history of cinema, several franchises have managed to endure across generations, transcending trends and the persistence of time to remain relevant. "James Bond" is one of the biggest examples, dating back to Sean Connery's debut as 007 in the smash hit "Dr. No" in 1962. Bond, James Bond, has been going strong ever since.

The whole enterprise stems from the mind of the late author Ian Fleming, whose books inspired a multi-billion-dollar enterprise that has lasted more than 70 years, dating back to the publication of "Casino Royale." That was Fleming's first novel, but he wrote a total of 14, in addition to several short stories. Up until the '90s, every "James Bond" movie took its title from one of those works. That all changed with the release of "GoldenEye" in 1995, which, after being delayed for several years due to various issues, kicked off Pierce Brosnan's run as the famed MI6 spy.

"GoldenEye" did not take its name from any of the books. Rather, it was inspired by Fleming's estate in Jamaica where he wrote many of Bond's adventures. This wasn't a one-off though, as none of the four films featuring Brosnan in the lead role, which also include "Tomorrow Never Dies," "The World is Not Enough," and "Die Another Day," took their titles from the books. That begs the question, why? The answer is surprisingly simple.

By that time, four other actors had portrayed Bond, including Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and George Lazenby who played the role just once in the underrated "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Those actors fronted a total of 16 movies. By then, most of Fleming's titles had been used up. "Octopussy and The Living Daylights" was even split into two different titles for the movies. The well had dried up.