Steven Spielberg Was Rejected by James Bond Franchise

In this day and age, it’s hard to imagine anyone ever turning down three-time Oscar winner Steven Spielberg. But the filmmaker revealed that he was previously rejected multiple times after asking to direct a James Bond movie.

During a recent interview on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, the Disclosure Day director was asked if he regrets not helming a 007 film.

“I have regrets that they didn’t approach me to direct a Bond film,” Spielberg clarified. “I approached Cubby Broccoli [James Bond franchise producer] after Jaws was a big hit. I’d always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw Dr. No, so I called Cubby Broccoli after Jaws and volunteered. I said, ‘If you need a director, I would love to direct one.’ And he said no and he moved on.”

The E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial filmmaker said he pitched himself again a few years later following the release of 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. At the time, he recalled Broccoli reaching out, asking to use his film’s iconic five-note musical melody in a scene in 1979’s Moonraker.

“I said, ‘I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you permission to use the five notes if you let me direct a Bond film.’ And he said no. But I gave him the five notes anyway,” Spielberg recounted. “They consistently turned me down. He never explained why he wasn’t letting me into the Bond family.”

However, when one door closes (or refuses to open in this case), another door opens. Despite not getting the opportunity to direct a Bond pic, Spielberg actually found his way to another iconic film franchise: Indiana Jones.

“When I told that story to George Lucas in 1977, when we were in Hawaii together getting ready for the release of Star Wars: A New Hope, he said, ‘I have something better than Bond. It’s called Indiana Smith,’ which is what it was called at the time,” The Fabelmans director explained. “He told me the premise of the Indiana Jones series, and that’s how I got that job.”

He went on to helm four Indiana Jones movies, starting with 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Fast forward to today, and if Spielberg were to be asked to direct a Bond movie now, he admitted, “My answer would be: ‘You can’t afford me.’” Meanwhile, Dune director Denis Villeneuve has been tapped to direct the next installment, the first from Amazon MGM Studios.

Spielberg’s latest film, Disclosure Day, releases in theaters June 12.