Wasn’t there a James Bond movie that was made independently of the people who hold the film rights (the heirs of Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman)? I believe they even got Connery to star in it.
Was it “Never Say Never Again”?
Yes, but film rights for Thunderball were legally awarded to Kevin McClory.
He later pushed the envelope and claimed the rights to the SPECTRE characters entirely.
This caused “The Spy Who Loved Me” to change the name of the villain from Ernst Blofeld to Karl Stromberg.
Years later, McClory attempted yet another remake...he tried to get Timothy Dalton to play Bond after he had been pushed out for Pierce Brosnan.
McClory - his family I think - sold the rights back to Broccoli - hence the new movies “Casino Royale,” “Spectre,” etc.