James Bond isn't the only coveted role in the franchise. It's not just about who will play the next James Bond. It's also about who will direct the next film.
While there have been tons of potential 007's throughout the years, there have also been a lot of potential directors who could have given us their own stories about the spy. But unfortunately, directors from Alfred Hitchcock to Quentin Tarantino have been denied the opportunity, including another famous director; Steven Spielberg.
Here's why Spielberg was denied his own James Bond film, not once, but twice.
Spielberg 'Wasn't The Right Fit,' According to Bond's Producer
Spielberg is the king of adventure and action films, so it's surprising to hear that he'd be rejected from making his own Bond film.
After his first couple of hit movies, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg was convinced his experience would allow him to direct a Bond film. Then, out of nowhere, he bumped into Roger Moore himself, in Paris, and confided in him about his wishes.
"We sat, and we talked," Moore told MTV. "He said he would love to direct a Bond. At this time, all I knew about him was that I had seen 'Duel,' which I thought was a superb bit of moviemaking, and he wasn't that known at that time."
So Moore went straight to long-time James Bond producer and co-founder of Eon Productions, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli about Spielberg's idea.
Broccoli's opinion about Spielberg was probably not what the director was expecting, however.
"I called Cubby Broccoli twice, and after Jaws which was such a huge success, I thought 'Hey people are giving me final cut now,'" Spielberg told the BBC Radio 2. "So I called up Cubby and offered my services but he didn’t think I was right for the part. Then even after Close Encounters [of the Third Kind] came out and was a big hit – once again – I tried to get on a Bond film and now they can’t afford me."
The main reason Broccoli turned him down the first time was because of a lack of experience. At that time, Spielberg was hardly a household name as he is today.
"Spielberg wanted a piece, and Cubby didn't want to give anything away," Moore said. "He didn't want to give any more points of Bond away to directors coming in."
If Spielberg had been taken on, he probably would have directed The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and/or Moonraker (1979). It's okay though because if he did, we would have never have gotten some of Spielberg's hits during that decade, including Indiana Jones.
But what are Spielberg's thoughts on making future Bond films? He says it's unlikely. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Spielberg again mentioned that the unlikeliness was due to the fact that they couldn't afford him anymore.
"When I first started making movies, the only franchise I cared about and wanted to be part of was James Bond," he said. "When I started out as a TV director, my pie-in-the-sky dream was to make a little movie that would get some notoriety, and then [the late Bond series producer] Cubby Broccoli would call me and ask me to direct the next James Bond picture. But I could never get Cubby Broccoli to hire me—and now, sadly, they can’t afford me."
Moore has a theory that if Spielberg hadn't made Indiana Jones, it wouldn't have given the Bond films something to push off of.
"Spielberg made Indiana Jones, which really is one step beyond Bond," Moore said. "That made Bond step up."
Spielberg Put Bond References In 'Indiana Jones'
Ironically, Broccoli asked Spielberg if he could use the famous five-note melody that was used in Close Encounters for the Bond film, Moonraker. But that doesn't mean that Broccolli was going to offer the director's chair in exchange.
"Cubby asked me permission to use the famous five musical notes in Close Encounters for Moonraker," Spielberg told The Hollywood Reporter. "I said sure and by the way, do you have a slot for me for Bond and he said no!"
Bond had Spielberg connections, so in return, Spielberg wanted Bond connections in his films. He wound up putting in as many references to his favorite franchise as he could, without making it too obvious.
George Lucas might have come up with the idea of Indy while on vacation with Spielberg, but Spielberg still had the license to add in 007 references here and there. The two characters are similar in many ways, and the serial nature of the Indiana Jones franchise was modeled after Bond.
Both Bond and Indy are constantly traveling the world on a new, often perilous, adventure eclipsed by equally great music scores. But ultimately the two both have an uncanny ability to spring to action when it calls.
One instance where the two characters seemed to blend into one happened in the intro of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The opening scene pays homage to the Bond film Goldfinger. We see Indy wearing virtually an identical white tux with a red flower lapel at a night club, the same outfit Sean Connery wears in Goldfinger.
Of course, at the time, neither actor knew they'd eventually play father and son in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In fact, Spielberg chose Connery specifically because he'd been Bond.
So it all came full circle in a weird way. Spielberg got to work with Bond himself, and make his own Bond-like films. In the end, the two franchises worked off one another, which is what great storytelling is all about.
But Spielberg getting rejected isn't really surprising. The Bond creators have proved that they have very specific things that they go by to keep avid fans happy. No one liked Daniel Craig at first.