Why Steven Soderbergh turned down a James Bond movie: “It was fun to think about”
There are certain franchises that become a playground for the best directors in the business, with new people being brought into story worlds as a way to inject new life and creativity into something that might otherwise become predictable. It could be Alfonso Cuaron’s twist on the Harry Potter series, which remains the best film in the entire franchise, or Lorene Scafaria’s episode of Succession, but it is always an exciting thing when fresh talent is introduced to a project.
This has certainly been the case with the James Bond franchise, with countless announcements over the years as new writers and directors are added to the creative team, whether it be the media frenzy surrounding Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s script edits to the last film or the speculation around who will helm the next venture for the secret agent while under Amazon’s name. But with all the confirmed collaborations, there are just as many people who didn’t quite make the cut or were thwarted at the last hurdle, with one director describing his challenge to join the franchise.
Steven Soderbergh is one of the most interesting studio directors of the 21st century, with a style that both breaks convention while still appealing to the masses, creating iconic classics like Ocean’s Eleven, Logan Lucky, and Erin Brockovich. Known for his pioneering of the heist genre, the director has also had plenty of experience within less commercial story worlds, such as the controversial release of Sex, Lies and Videotape in 1989, which remains as one of the less bizarre psychosexual dramas in James Spader’s filmography.
But while he might seem like the perfect fit for James Bond, especially give his natural inclination for high-stakes stories and spy thrillers like Black Bag, the director couldn’t find a way around the creative conflict that arose when discussing his potential involvement in the MI6 franchise, with clashing opinions around how things should be handled that ultimately meant it didn’t work out.
It would be a huge loss for anyone up for the job, with Soderbergh saying, “Yeah. I love that world. I think we were at odds about some things that were important. We had some great conversations, and it was fun to think about. But we just couldn’t…the last ten yards were, we just couldn’t do it. We just couldn’t figure it out”.
Who knows which things they were at odds about, but there’s no doubt that there have been many questionable creative decisions made within the franchise over its lifetime, whether it be the entire script for Spectre or the portrayal of nearly every single female character.
Perhaps if Soderbergh had put his own spin on the franchise, then we would have a more grounded story that still maintains suspense and intensity, with the director becoming known for this quality through previous films in which he explores intricate character dynamics while still amping up the action. But alas, perhaps Soderbergh isn’t the right guy for Amazon, and there’s no doubt that Amazon are probably eyeing someone predictable for the job, like Christopher Nolan or Ridley Scott.
