Steven Soderbergh on almost directing a James Bond movie

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Over the decades, we've seen more than a few directors tackle the James Bond franchise, but there are just as many who came close but ultimately didn't pull the trigger. Steven Soderbergh is one of those directors, and he recently spoke with The Playlist about discussions he had with Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli.

Absolutely, I love that world. We were at odds about some things that were important. We had some great conversations. It was fun to think about, but we just couldn’t…. the last ten yards were, we just couldn’t do it, we couldn’t figure it out.

Soderbergh added that some elements of his Bond pitch wound up being folded into Haywire, his action-thriller starring Gina Carano. "Aspects of it have shown up elsewhere," Soderbergh explained. "I would say, there are things in ‘Haywire,’ in terms of its approach to the character, and it’s not a big movie, but there’s a little bit of activity in it. That’s a hint of the kind of attitude I was looking for." Although Steven Soderbergh didn't get to play in Bond's sandbox, he admits that "they're doing very well" without him, adding, "I hope they're able to figure out the release of the new one."

The "new one" is of course No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's fifth and final installment of the franchise. The film will continue on where Spectre left off, with James Bond having left active service to begin a new life with Dr. Swann (Léa Seydoux), but Bond is soon brought back into action when Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) comes calling to enlist his help in searching for a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that the scientist was abducted, Bond must confront a danger the likes of which the world has never seen before in a villain (Rami Malek) armed with dangerous new technology. The film also stars Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Christoph Waltz, Ben Whishaw, Naomi Harris, Rory Kinnear, and Ralph Fiennes, with Cary Fukunaga directing from a script he co-wrote with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. No Time to Die has experienced numerous delays due to COVID-19, but is currently slated to hit theaters on April 2, 2021. Steven Soderbergh's latest film, Let Them All Talk, was released on HBO Max earlier this month. Check out a review from our own Alex Maidy.