In short, they picked one of the strongest and most adaptable stories from the 10 Bond books that writer Ian Fleming had written at the time and set out to make a great standalone film. However, because 'cinematic universes,' 'soft reboots,' and 'franchise films' are fairly modern terms, the studio's approach to adapting Bond in the '60s was much more careful than some studio moves nowadays. One book series, in particular, has been adapting its stories, titles, and characters into box-office blockbusters for sixty years now, and its name is Bond. More recently, studios have prioritized franchise longevity by choosing to adapt long-running book series, such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings. For years, Hollywood has adapted books and short stories to the big screen.