Steven Spielberg has revealed that he was repeatedly rejected when he tried to direct a James Bond film early in his career, despite his long-standing admiration for the franchise.
Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, the Oscar-winning filmmaker said he approached long-time Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli after the success of Jaws, offering his services to direct a 007 movie.
“I approached Cubby Broccoli after Jaws was a big hit,” Spielberg said on The Rest Is Entertainment.
“I’d always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw Dr. No. So I called Cubby 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.”
Spielberg added that he made a second attempt after the success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, even negotiating over the use of the film’s iconic five-note musical motif, which Broccoli reportedly wanted to include in the Bond film Moonraker.
“Cubby called me a few years after Close Encounters and said, ‘We’d like to use the five notes in Moonraker,’” Spielberg recalled on The Rest Is Entertainment. “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.”
Steven Spielberg. Fred Duval, Shutterstock
The director said he never received a clear explanation for why he was consistently turned down, joking that if the opportunity ever came again, the scale of his career would now make it unlikely.
“So they consistently turned me down. He never explained why he wasn’t letting me into the Bond family,” he said on The Rest Is Entertainment. “So if they ever asked me to make a Bond film now, my answer would be: ‘You can’t afford me.’”
Separately, Spielberg has also been speaking about his upcoming sci-fi film Disclosure Day, which arrives in cinemas in June 2026.
Emily Blunt. DFree, Shutterstock
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, actress Emily Blunt described her reaction to reading the secretive script for the project, saying it left her deeply emotional.
“It was so secretive that when my agent called me and said ‘Steven Spielberg wants to meet you,’ they didn’t even know what it was about,” Blunt said in the interview with Entertainment Tonight. “My agent didn’t know what it was about. Nothing was passed over.”
She added that Spielberg personally guided her through the story before handing over the screenplay.
“So I went to meet him, and on the coffee table was a book called ‘Close Encounters’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ And so he pitched me a little bit and said: ‘I don’t want to tell you any more, I want you to take it home and read it. And then you call me.’” she told Entertainment Tonight.
Blunt said the script had a strong emotional impact on her.
“I called him and I cried, because it was so breathtaking,” she said on Entertainment Tonight.
The film is described as a sci-fi thriller about a whistleblower uncovering a long-running conspiracy involving extraterrestrial life, with Spielberg himself suggesting it revisits themes explored in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Eve Hewson. Lev Radin, Shutterstock
The cast includes Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson.
Disclosure Day is released in cinemas on June 12, 2026.
