Steven Spielberg Was Rejected Twice From Directing James Bond — Now He Says “You Can’t Afford Me”

This has been making the rounds, and it involves Steven Spielberg having been turned down multiple times in his attempts to direct a James Bond movie in the ’70s.

Guesting on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Spielberg, admitting to being a lifelong Bond fan, says that after the success of “Jaws,” he reached out to producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and offered his services, explaining:

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 I volunteered… And he said, no. And he moved on.

Spielberg said the idea was simply rejected without further discussion, marking his first attempt to enter the Bond world. He did try again after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” but was again turned down by Broccoli. That was the last time he pondered the idea.

Spielberg added that this rejection indirectly led to ‘Indiana Jones,’ after George Lucas told him, “I have something better than Bond,” before pitching what became the franchise.

When asked if he would want to direct Bond today, he replied: “[if they ask me now] my answer would be: you can’t afford me.”

Technically, Amazon/MGM can afford him. Spielberg reportedly received a $10M payday to direct “Disclosure Day,” and I gather Denis Villeneuve will be getting around the same amount to helm Bond 26. Regardless, at 79, Spielberg has other passion projects he’d rather pursue instead of spending a few years on Bond.

The Broccolis have a history of tightly controlling filmmakers in the Bond franchise, and having Spielberg involved would likely have been no different, which is probably why they decided against it. That’s also the same reason why, despite multiple attempts, Christopher Nolan never got his chance.