Abandoned 007 Movies: 6 James Bond Films That Were Never Made
by Dave LiftonThe James Bond franchise is filled with hits and misses — but also never-weres.
In the gallery below, we're looking at six James Bond movies that were planned but never completed and three others that could have been helmed by some of the most famous directors of all time.
The saga surrounding Thunderball plays a major role in the history of unmade James Bond films. It was originally conceived as a movie in the late '50s by 007 creator Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham; Alfred Hitchcock was asked to direct but refused. When Fleming turned the story into a novel without crediting the others, they sued and McClory wound up with the rights to make his own version of Thunderball. His attempt in the mid-'70s brought back Sean Connery as both the star and co-writer of Warhead. (McClory was credited as a producer on the 1965 Thunderball directed by Terence Young.) Although McClory eventually got to make his Bond film, 1983's Never Say Never Again, he tried updating the Warhead script for the '90s, but it was quashed by a lawsuit.
On two occasions ideas from existing scripts were re-worked. The first, Property of a Lady, was announced as Timothy Dalton's third film as 007, but the actor's contract ran out before it could get made and GoldenEye retained a couple of plot elements. Similarly, the climax of Skyfall was pulled from a rejected script called Once Upon a Spy co-penned by acclaimed screenwriter Peter Morgan.)
Successful movie franchises often spin characters off into their own stories, and although James Bond has not had any to date, it hasn't been for a lack of trying. Barbara Broccoli, who took over her father Albert's role at Eon, was interested in using Halle Berry's star power to create a movie based on Jinx, the character the Academy Award-winning actress played in Die Another Day, but distributor MGM nixed the idea. More recently, there has been a discussion to turn Naomie Harris' Eve Moneypenny into a movie, but there has been no movement on it as of press time.
Two of cinema's most celebrated directors wanted to make James Bond movies. In the '70s, Steven Spielberg twice offered up his services to Eon Productions but was turned down on both occasions. Three decades later, Quentin Tarantino approached the studio with an idea for Casino Royale that would restore some of the '60s glamour to the series, but the studio rejected him. While the films eventually got made with other directors, it's tempting to imagine how they could have worked their unique visions into the franchise.
Read more about all of these below.
Sean Connery Co-Wrote a Bond Movie Called 'Warhead'
Ian Fleming originally conceived 'Thunderball' for the screen and brought in producer Kevin McClory and screenwriter Jack Whittingham to help write it. But the author turned the story into a 1961 novel without crediting the other two. They successfully sued Fleming, and part of the judgement gave McClory the right to film his own version of 'Thunderball' 10 years after the 1965 version hit the screen. In the mid-'70s, he not only convinced Sean Connery to star but also work on the script. The result, 'Warhead,' had elements of 'Thunderball''s plot and went off on its own, concluding in New York as Bond battled robotic sharks in the sewers and SPECTRE atop the Statue of Liberty. But there were elements that were too close to the Bond film that Eon Productions was making at the same time, 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' and when both sides issued injunctions against each other, Connery and Paramount pulled out. But McClory and Connery would eventually get their chance to remake 'Thunderball' with 1983's 'Never Say Never Again.' But that still didn't end the saga.
A Lawsuit Stopped Timothy Dalton's 'Property of a Lady'
Timothy Dalton was supposed to star in a third 007 film, 'Property of a Lady,' which was announced at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Its plot centered around a planned attack on a nuclear facility in Scotland and a mentor of Bond's turning traitor. But before a director was hired, the sale of distributor MGM/UA to a French company led to a reduced rate in the international broadcast rights for Bond movies. Danjaq, Eon's parent company, sued, with the settlement coming at the end of 1992, by which time Dalton's contract had expired. Dalton told Broccoli that he would be willing to come back for one more go-round, but the producer wanted a longer commitment. For 1995's 'GoldenEye,' Pierce Brosnan's first movie as the British spy, the two main plot elements from 'Property of a Lady' were retained, although the facility was moved to Russia.
Liam Neeson Starring in 'Warhead 2000'
McClory was still enamored with his 'Warhead' idea and in 1997 teamed up with Sony Pictures to make another Bond film outside of Eon to be called either 'Warhead 2000' or 'Warhead 2000 A.D.' Liam Neeson was linked with the project — as was Dalton — but it never got off the ground. After Sony announced the film, MGM sued, claiming that McClory's right to make another 007 movie expired in 1989. The two studios settled in 1999, with Sony dropping their plans to enter the James Bond game and MGM giving up their claims on 'Spider-Man.'
MGM Balked at the Budget for a Jinx Spin-off Starring Halle Berry
Halle Berry was one of the few women to have already been a star when she signed on to be a Bond girl in 'Die Another Day'; she won her Best Actress Oscar for 'Monster's Ball' during filming. Following the movie's release, there was talk of spinning off her Jinx character into her own movie. It was part of a goal by Barbara Broccoli — who took over Eon from her father, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, a year before his 1996 death — to rid the Bond world of its outdated views of women. She had reportedly gotten Stephen Frears to direct and commissioned a script from Neal Purvis and Rob Wade, who wrote 'Die Another Day' and several other Bond films. But, as she told 'Variety' in 2020, the $80 million budget scared off MGM from committing to it.
Peter Morgan's 'Once Upon a Spy' Had the Idea to Kill M
Screenwriter Peter Morgan ('Frost/Nixon,' 'The Queen') collaborated with Purvis and Wade on a script called 'Once Upon a Spy,' which was to be Eon's 23rd James Bond movie. But the script was rejected by the studio and director Sam Mendes, with Wade saying that Morgan's ideas were closer to John Le Carre than Fleming. Purvis and Wade then teamed up with John Logan to create 2012's 'Skyfall,' which retained one key part of the original's plot, the killing of Judi Dench's M.
There Could Be a Miss Moneypenny Franchise
After a brief absence, Miss Moneypenny was rebooted in 'Skyfall' by actress Naomie Harris, with the twist being that she had been an agent before leaving the field to become M's secretary. In 2019, she revealed that 'Moonlight' director Barry Jenkins approached her about creating a franchise built around Moneypenny. Harris said that she put him in touch with Barbara Broccoli, although "nothing’s happened so far, but you never know.”
Alfred Hitchcock Was Asked to Direct 'Thunderball'
Given James Bond's profession in British intelligence, it makes perfect sense that his creator, Ian Fleming, would turn to the most celebrated British director of the day, Alfred Hitchcock, for the first film. According to 'Variety,' Fleming sent a telegram to the Master of Suspense asking him to direct 'Thunderball,' But Hitchcock wasn't interested, reportedly because he had just made 'North by Northwest' and didn't want to make another spy thriller, opting instead for 'Psycho.' Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins would adapt the original 'Thunderball' screenplay as Eon Productions' fourth James Bond movie, with Terence Young directing.
Steven Spielberg Wanted to Make a Bond Film
With the critical and commercial success of 'Jaws' leading to him being hailed as one of Hollywood's hottest young directors, Steven Spielberg could write his own ticket. Or so he believed. As he told the BBC in 2016, "I thought 'Hey people are giving me final cut now.' So I called up Cubby and offered my services, but he didn’t think I was right for the part." Had he been hired, he would have helmed 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' but he wound up making 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.' Then Spielberg tried to get 'Moonraker' but was again turned down. "Now they can't afford me," he added.
Quentin Tarantino Pitched an Old-School 'Casino Royale' With Pierce Brosnan
Stephen Spielberg wasn't the only famous director to try to attach himself to the Bond world. In 2004, Quentin Tarantino revealed that he was interested in adapting Ian Fleming's novel 'Casino Royale' for the screen — a spoof of Bond films using that name was released outside of Eon in 1967 — and had spoken to Brosnan about it. The director wanted to bring back the feel of the earlier films, setting it in the '60s and maybe even shooting it in black-and-white, with his frequent muse Uma Thurman as Vesper Lynd. But when he suggested it to Eon, they rejected the idea, telling him the book was "unfilmable," even though they released their own version of the 1953 book in 2006, Daniel Craig's first portrayal of 007.