Spielberg Says Bond Producers Rejected Him Twice, and Now 007 Can't Afford Him

Q: Was rejecting Spielberg a mistake, or did it save two of cinema's most iconic franchises?

It was probably not a mistake; in hindsight, it helped preserve Bond’s identity while opening the door to *Indiana Jones*. For Bond, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli’s refusal fit how Eon traditionally operated. Broccoli tightly controlled the franchise and often favored directors who would work within its established formula rather than overpower it with a personal brand. By the late 1970s, Spielberg was already becoming a major auteur after *Jaws* and *Close Encounters*. A Spielberg-directed Bond film might have been exciting, but it also could have shifted the series away from the house style Broccoli was protecting. For Spielberg, the rejection was clearly pivotal. By his own account, it pushed him toward George Lucas’s idea for what became *Indiana Jones*. That franchise became one of Hollywood’s defining adventure series, with *Raiders of the Lost Ark* and its sequels shaping blockbuster filmmaking for decades. If Spielberg had gotten Bond, that collaboration may never have happened in the same way. The evidence suggests Bond did not suffer from saying no. The series continued successfully through the Roger Moore era and beyond, remaining one of cinema’s most durable franchises. At the same time, Spielberg’s disappointment directly contributed to the birth of another global franchise. So the rejection looks less like a blunder than a rare case where a closed door benefited everyone: Bond stayed Bond, and Spielberg helped create *Indiana Jones* instead.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 11

Steven Spielberg said James Bond producers turned him down twice to direct a 007 film, first after 1975 hit Jaws and again after 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Cubby Broccoli rejected Spielberg's first offer outright, then refused a second pitch when Spielberg tried to trade permission to use Close Encounters' five-note theme in 1979's Moonraker for a Bond directing job.
Spielberg said the snubs helped redirect him to Raiders of the Lost Ark after George Lucas, hearing the Bond story around Star Wars' release, pitched what was then called "Indiana Smith."
Asked on a podcast whether he regretted missing Bond, Spielberg said Broccoli never explained the refusals and joked that if the franchise asked now, "you can't afford me."