Indiana Jones famously began on a beach in Hawaii in 1977 when Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were taking a vacation. Spielberg was on a break from editing Close Encounters of the Third Kind, while Lucas was there to hide from what everyone presumed would be a disastrous opening for Star Wars. What’s less widely known about that trip, however, is that before Lucas pitched him Indy, Spielberg was trying to direct a James Bond project but was rebuffed repeatedly by producer Albert R. Broccoli.
Of course, Jones had enough in common with the Bond franchise to pique Spielberg's interest, and Hollywood history was made. But had things gone differently, the world may not have had Indiana Jones, and Spielberg's resume would look a lot different.
Spielberg took an interest in directing a Bond film almost as soon as Jaws hit. With a freshly minted blockbuster under his belt, he called Broccoli and offered his services, according to an interview with the BBC. While Broccoli turned him down initially, Spielberg was undeterred and called the producer again after Close Encounters became a hit.
The iconic director was turned away once again, but the reasons why are a little nebulous. Spielberg claims Broccoli told him he wasn’t experienced enough -- Jaws was only the director’s third theatrical release and was a much less known commodity at the time. Furthermore, his films had a reputation for going over budget, and while that hardly mattered with Jaws and Close Encounters, his next movie, 1941, was a critical and financial disaster. The Bond franchise -- which was well-established at the time and had a reliable star in Roger Moore -- didn't want to take a chance on a filmmaker who had yet to prove he could bring in a big movie on time and within budget.
Speculation ran rampant that Broccoli considered Bond a British franchise and only wanted British directors at the helm, but that rumor remained more or less unfounded. To that point, every Bond director had been British, but the trend would break in 1995 when New Zealand's own Martin Campbell delivered GoldenEye.
Regardless of the reasons, though, Bond wasn’t an option for Spielberg. Instead, he and Lucas moved forward with Raiders of the Lost Ark and reaped the subsequent rewards. In what must've been a sweet moment for Spielberg, the Bond film For Your Eyes Only opened two weeks after Raiders and grossed just over a quarter of its money. And to rub salt even further in the wound, Spielberg got a chance to direct Sean Connery in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, making him an indelible footnote in the Bond actor's legacy.
Still, Spielberg's interest in the Bond franchise makes one wonder what The Spy Who Loved Me or 1979’s Moonraker would've looked like with him at the helm. Moonraker, in particular, makes an intriguing “what if,” mostly because the movie’s sci-fi heavy plot was reportedly a direct response to the success of Lucas's Star Wars. Nevertheless, Indiana Jones would go on to become a cinematic icon in his own right, leaving moviegoers with another suave hero to enjoy.