We’re steadily approaching four years since the lastJames Bondfilm, No Time to Die, was released to the masses and concluded the five-movie run of Daniel Craig’s 007 tenure. In this long wait, there has been little to no news on casting or directing, just rumors and fan casts galore. More recently, news broke that the biggest director in Hollywood right now, Christopher Nolan, was actuallyin talks to direct a prevoius Bond filmbefore things fizzled out. That puts Nolan in a niche but stacked with a talented list of directors who almost directed a James Bond film.
8Christopher Nolan (28th Bond Film)
After Tenet, Christopher Nolan was reportedly very interested in directing the next Bond film, according to aVariety report. Nolan had plans to do two Bond movies, specifically setting the franchise back to its roots in the 60s. With Amazon now the owners of MGM studios and the Bond franchise, many executives within the company were enamored by the idea of Nolan directing as well. The only issue was getting past Barbara Broccoli, the longtime Bond producer who has always controlled the final cut and much of the Bond name in films. As much as the world wanted it, Nolan is a final cut director and Broccoli wouldn’t budge, leading Nolan to move on and direct another masterpiece in Oppenheimer.
7Quentin Tarantino (Casino Royale)
After starting with the post Daniel Craig Bond franchise, let’s go all the way back to pre Daniel Craig Bond with our next legendary almost director, Quentin Tarantino. After Die Another Day flopped, the execs behind the Bond franchise wanted to shake things up. That meant looking at a guy like Tarantino, known for his very distinct style of filmmaking. Tarantino and producers actually met to discuss a future film, with Tarantino also pushing for a return to the 60s with Pierce Brosnan returning for another film. The Bond producers favored a Bond recast more, and elected to pair up Martin Campbell alongside a new Bond, Daniel Craig instead.
6Alfred Hitchcock (From Russia With Love and Thunderball)
Continuing down the old time machine, one of the greatest spy movie directors, Alfred Hitchcock, was reportedly considered for not one, but two different Bond movies. After the success of Dr. No there were reports that Hitchcock was interested in the sequel film From Russia With Love, but nothing was ever concrete. There was a similar story for the fourth Bond movie, Thunderball. Hitchcock was considered in the hiring process, but nothing ever panned out. One can only wonder what kind of masterpiece Hitchcock would’ve turned out in the Bond franchise.
5Steven Spielberg (The Spy Who Loved Me)
Yes, Steven Spielberg is also a member of this list after putting his hat in the ring to direct The Spy Who Loved Me. Spielberg,according to reports, wanted to direct a Bond film, and went straight to the production team asking for a shot. Now, it’s vital to note that Spielberg tried to helm this project before becoming a top-tier Hollywood director; in fact, at the time, Spielberg was only in pre-production for arguably his most famous film, Jaws. Only time will tell why Spielberg never returned to the Bond franchise to try and land another film after his career took off.
4Peter Jackson (The World is Not Enough)
This list does not limit fantasy icons like Peter Jackson, who was almost a Bond director for a more unique reason. Unlike her blocking of Nolan, Barbara Broccoli was reportedly infatuated with Jackson after his movie Heavenly Creatures. Broccoli pushed hard for him to direct The World is Not Enough, until she saw The Frighteners, which changed her mind and wanted to go with a completely different directional style. Jackson is not a name many would’ve thought of for a franchise like Bond, but he still gets a nod on our list.
3John Woo (Goldeneye)
Now a name more in line with the genres of the Bond franchise is John Woo, who was considered for an action-packed early draft ofone of the greatest Bond films, Goldeneye. Woo becomes the first name on our list to be offered the role of directing a Bond movie, but turned it down. Woo’s catalog at the time of mesmerizing action movies like Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow made him a home run hire, but while Woo wasreportedly honored to be chosen, he didn’t want to helm the Goldeneye project.
2Steven Soderbergh (N/A)
If we’ve covered the action side of the Bond franchise with Woo, who better to cover the espionage side than Steven Soderbergh. There aren’t a ton of concrete details for this entry, but Soderbergh did confirm he was approached to direct one of the Bond films during the Daniel Craig era. One can only imagine what the mind behind Ocean’s Eleven would bring to the Bond franchise, but creative differences over the direction of the film led Soderbergh to walk away early in the process.
1Danny Boyle (No Time to Die)
Speaking of walking away, our final entry is Danny Boyle, the only director on this list to get the furthest into a Bond film before stepping away. Boyle was the original choice and hire for Daniel Craig’s final Bond film, No Time to Die. However, several months into the endeavor, Boyle left the project with the studio, labeling the reason as “creative differences.” Boyle laterspoke outabout the situation, saying he learned a lot about himself during the process, and that he had no ill will towards the eventual director Cary Fukunaga.
