The James Bond franchise is experiencing its most significant period of transition since Sean Connery quit in the 1960s. Daniel Craig was always going to leave big shoes to fill, but No Time to Die‘s ending and the death of 007 essentially forces Bond 26 to perform a total reset. To top off the upheaval, the next James Bond movie will be the first official release without the Broccoli family steering the ship, as Amazon takes creative control.

Daniel Craig’s replacement is still not cast, and fans have little clue as to what Bond’s next mission will look like when it actually happens. Fortunately, plenty of great spy movie franchises offer similar thrills without feeling derivative or cartoonish.

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The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare

At first glance, Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is closer to a war film than a Bondian spy caper, but the true story behind the movie alters that perspective. Henry Cavill is Gus March-Phillipps – a member of the British Army that Ian Fleming drew inspiration from when conceptualizing James Bond as a literary creation. Cementing the connection, Fleming himself is a character in Ritchie’s film – a lieutenant commander portrayed by Freddie Fox.

Beyond the Bond parallels, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare offers a similar blend of wry humor, intense action, and maverick patriotic spirit. Criminally overlooked upon release in 2024, those wondering whether Henry Cavill would make a good 007 will find their answer right here.

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The Harry Palmer Trilogy

For those who find classic Bond a little too chipper, Michael Caine’s trilogy of Harry Palmer movies (consisting of The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin and Million Dollar Brain) are must-watch. Grittier, moodier, and more grounded than anything 007 was doing at the time, Palmer proved revolutionary in his day, but could also be seen as the progenitor of James Bond’s Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig eras.

As two British spies prevalent in the ’60s, comparisons between Bond and Palmer are nothing new, and amplified further by Harry Saltzman serving as a producer on both franchises. The parallel is difficult to deny, and the basic skeleton of Palmer isn’t a million miles from the outline Ian Fleming sketched for 007, but The Ipcress File and its sequels do more than enough to offer a different flavor of spy movie.

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Mission: Impossible

Anyone looking for a long-running spy series to ease the wait for Bond 26 will struggle to look past Mission: Impossible. Ethan Hunt is Bond’s brash American cousin – louder, more direct, and able to drive on the right. And while the Mission: Impossible movies post-2000 share very little DNA with Fleming’s creation, Brian De Palma’s original 1996 effort feels like it could have been written for Roger Moore or Timothy Dalton.

The Mission: Impossible series varies wildly in terms of quality, although James Bond fans are no strangers to that. Impressively, Ethan Hunt’s cinematic exploits improve as they progress, generally speaking, making the entire story a riveting watch… if you can get through Mission: Impossible II.

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The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Another chapter in Henry Cavill’s unofficial James Bond trilogy, 2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. remade the iconic 1960s TV show with a respectful nod to the source material. As with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Cavill’s stint as Napoleon Solo failed to set the world alight. Also like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, this was a Guy Ritchie movie that didn’t get the credit it deserved.

As well as matching Bond tux for tux in the style stakes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.‘s period setting affords it an irreverent lightness that works well with Ritchie’s action set-pieces and Cavill’s obvious charm. It still stings that The Man from U.N.C.L.E. didn’t do enough to warrant a sequel, but the hallmarks of a great spy franchise in the making are clear to see in the first movie alone. Napoleon’s solo effort came up short, but still demands attention from Bond lovers.

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The Rock

Sean Connery had three final James Bond movies – You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, and Never Say Never Again – and none of them can be considered his best work. If only Connery was given a chance to redeem himself toward the latter end of his career… Enter, Michael Bay’s 1996 action thriller, The Rock.

By no means an official James Bond movie, Connery’s role as a retired MI6 agent combined with a believably Bond-like performance allows the viewer to imagine they’re watching an older version of the original 007 who first appeared in Dr. No.

Bond or not, The Rock is a full-throttle action movie that lacks the nuance of Fleming’s creation, but makes up for it with rip-roaring fun and Bay’s trademark aversion to subtlety, which is a strength here.

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The Tailor Of Panama

Few authors have defined the spy genre quite like Ian Fleming, but John le Carré is certainly in that conversation. 1999’s The Tailor of Panama adapts one of le Carré’s stories with Pierce Brosnan – still on active duty as Bond at the time – in the lead role. It’s a global conspiracy to destabilize a fragile peace with Brosnan’s MI6 agent at the center, so far so Bond. The twist here is that Brosnan’s spy is the villain.

A fascinating watch in its own right, The Tailor of Panama also succeeds as a more sinister take on the genre compared to Brosnan’s tenure as 007. As a further point of intrigue, The Tailor of Panama boasts the feature film debut of a pre-Hogwarts Daniel Radcliffe. With Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brendan Gleeson also among the cast, this is a real hidden gem of the late ’90s.

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The Bourne Franchise

The Jason Bourne franchise is in the unique position of both influencing Bond and being inspired by him. When The Bourne Identity premiered in 2002, it felt like a response to the camp and outlandish end of Bond’s spectrum, especially with Die Another Day releasing the same year. Jason Bourne went on to redefine the genre while 007 endured an identity crisis, and by the time Casino Royale emerged from the ocean in its swimwear, the impact of Bourne’s success was obvious.

As great as Matt Damon’s first Bourne chapter was, the franchise maintains its quality throughout the next two entries, and The Bourne Ultimatum remains the best of the lot. Subsequent releases were met less enthusiastically, suggesting that 007 had perhaps stolen his spy movie crown back with Skyfall, but the entire 5-film run remains a compelling beast to binge through.

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Atomic Blonde

The debate over whether a female actor could be cast as James Bond is broadly split into two camps. There are those who believe 007’s core qualities can be possessed by any gender and after 60 years with multiple recasts, a female Bond would be a welcome change, and there are others who believe Hollywood should concentrate on creating original spy movies driven by female leads, like Atomic Blonde.

More John Wick than James Bond in its tone, Atomic Blonde remains arguably the best example of what a female 007 would look like, especially with its period antagonists and unashamed dedication to style. Despite releasing in 2017, Charlize Theron has expressed interest in a sequel, meaning Atomic Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde is a tangible possibility within the next five years.