Given OHMSS's lukewarm reception and the way Lazenby brazenly quit thinking he was too hot for Bond, it made perfect sense in 1971 to try to get away from any of that and promote the new film that emphasized the return to the more comic book tone of Goldfinger. At the very least, Connery coming back gave the series a much needed boost before moving onto a much more seamless transition with Roger Moore.I guess it still beats the Diamonds Are Forever trailer that talks about getting back "to what great movies are all about."The distance to which the producers went to try to make audiences forget about the previous (and far, far superior) film was pretty awkward and kinda sad.
I think ultimately with FYEO in 1981, featuring Bond visiting Tracy's grave site was EON making a statement that they were proud to have OHMSS as part of the legacy, and this was at a time when that film was still largely perceived as the black sheep of the franchise. Then Cubby saying he felt Lazenby could have grown in the role if he had stayed. Then films like LTK and TWINE with their heavy allusions to OHMSS.
Star Wars was brought up above. As far as that franchise goes, I'm actually super interested to find out how fans ultimately perceive the nine-part saga by 2030, especially by those who either grew up on it or had only gotten into Star Wars by the time it was firmly a nine film series. Thing about us old fans is we have our opinions based on our childhood and nostalgia, so how we view Star Wars today will be very different with future generations. Prior to the Sequel Trilogy, I had come to know fans who had grown up with the franchise as a six film saga who are now in their 20s, unlike me and many older generations in their late 30s or older that grew up with Star Wars either when it was brand new at the time or a firmly established trilogy (I was introduced during the latter, as a kid in 1993).
