Steven Spielberg Reveals the James Bond Gig That Slipped Away — and the Pitches Producers Turned Down
Before he conquered Hollywood, Steven Spielberg kept knocking on the James Bond door — and the producers kept slamming it shut.
Steven Spielberg wanted to make a James Bond movie. He asked. More than once. The answer was no every time. He just brought it up again on French TV, and the whole thing is a great what-if made funnier by what he did instead.
The Bond door that stayed shut
Back when Spielberg was basically setting the playbook for blockbusters, he pitched himself to the Bond team and got turned down. The calls went to Albert R. Broccoli, who was running the franchise and fiercely protective of its British identity. An American, even the American who just redefined summer movies, was not the guy in Broccoli's mind. Spielberg has talked about those rejections before on Michael Ball's BBC Radio 2 show, and he reiterated it this week with a grin.
"They had their shot with me."
That line came on France 2's '20h30 le dimanche' on Sunday, June 7, 2026, after he was asked point blank if he would have liked to direct a Bond film. He would have. They passed.
- 1975: 'Jaws ' devours the box office. Spielberg asks Broccoli for Bond. No.
- 1977: 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' lands. He asks again. Still no.
- Late 70s: If they had said yes, the likely targets were 'The Spy Who Loved Me' (1977) or 'Moonraker' (1979), both Roger Moore outings.
- Bonus irony: 'The Spy Who Loved Me' literally has a steel-toothed villain named Jaws and a shark set-piece. Subtle.
The pivot: a beach, a fedora, and a better idea
While Bond stayed off-limits, Spielberg met George Lucas on a beach in Hawaii. Lucas pitched a whip-cracking archaeologist who tangles with Nazis. That became Indiana Jones. And in 1981, the year Bond put out 'For Your Eyes Only,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' didn’t just work — it steamrolled the competition at home: $212 million domestic for 'Raiders' versus $55 million for 'For Your Eyes Only.' Different franchises, same audience, very clear result.
The bigger picture: money, deals, and doing just fine without 007
Spielberg's career didn’t just survive missing Bond; it expanded into a small empire. He stacked smart backend deals, built out producing power through Amblin, and locked in a now-legendary revenue arrangement tied to Universal theme parks. Forbes currently pegs his net worth at an eye-widening $7.1 billion.
Along the way, he produced 'Back to the Future, ' 'Men in Black,' and 'Jurassic Park' — with 'Jurassic Park' alone reportedly kicking him about $250 million via profit participation. He even carved out a slice of 'Star Wars' revenue thanks to a friendly arrangement with Lucas, despite not directing a frame of it. And in 2026, he completed the EGOT. So yeah, Bond said no. History said he won anyway.
What we missed (and what we got instead)
Would a Spielberg Bond in the Roger Moore era have been slick? Absolutely. The timing suggests he could have taken on 'The Spy Who Loved Me' or 'Moonraker,' which might have been a fascinating blend of his set-piece instincts and 70s Bond swagger. But the turn we actually got — Indy’s pulpy throwback energy, hero-first storytelling, and those immaculate action runs — arguably fits him better. The franchise he chased kept the door closed. The one he built left it wide open, and the line to get in has been around the block ever since.