This abandoned version was scary the producers, and it’s a shame

While we are still waiting to know what is preparing after Dying can waitTony Gilroy returned to his daring scenario of James Bond who was refused. Therefore,

Beyond the adventures of James Bondthe business around the saga has become a full -fledged soap opera. Furthermore, with its own bad guys and reversals. Meanwhile, As a reminder, Amazon bought the MGM in 2022thus forming the new Amazon MGM Studio entity. Furthermore, At the beginning of 2025. Consequently, lightning struck even stronger: Jeff Bezos’ company obtained creative control of the franchise James Bondformer precious hunting guarded by Broccoli (Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Similarly, Wilson).

Since then, the future of the number 007 has been uncertain. Similarly, Some immediately imagined that the spy in the service of His Majesty was going to be entitled to a Prime Video series (after the forgotten animation series James Bond Junior from 1991). In addition, ten spin-off per year, while others already imagine the worst casting side. Meanwhile, And it is true that today. Similarly, we are no longer safe from seeing an American actor take up the role, since this is where all the fears are … Consequently,

It is therefore in this troubled period. and while directors start to circulate, that screenwriter Tony Gilory spoke of his version of James Bond who never materialized, and who, at the time, had to give cold sweats to producers given the director who wanted to get down to it.

James leap back

Tony Gilroy, the scriptwriter of the trilogy Jason Bourne and Rogue Onerecently participated in a podcast program The Rogue Ones. He returned to his script for James Bond that Steven Soderbergh could have staged. the director ofErin Brockovichtrilogy Ocean’sof Magic Mike and lately The Insider.

Their proposal was daring to say the least. and even unprecedented, which partly explains why it was refused:

“I think Steven this abandoned version scary producers, Soderbergh has twice tried to enter the James Bond business. And it seems to me that what they do today corresponds to what [Steven] suggested a long time ago. We wanted to return to the 60s. make a black and white film on Carnaby Street [une artère emblématique du quartier de Soho, à Londres] and all that.

I thought it was a very interesting idea, with a budget of 30 million dollars, but he failed to convince them … They did not want to give control to anyone.«

The filmmaker did not specify when exactly this scenario was written. The two men. however, collaborated in 2007 on the film Michael Claytonthe first of Gilroy as a director, of which Soderbergh was one of the executive producers. who may suggest that it was about this period that they thought about a story together.

007 seconds of existence

Gilroy also teased the villain of his scenario, on which he did not give any detail, except that he would have been more interesting than most of the others:

“The problem of the Bond franchise is that they cannot find a good villain that works. In my opinion, they haven’t had a bad guy who has been working for a very long time. And that’s the whole problem, the rest is done on its own. [..] And I had another villain from another film that I could have transposed. Steven and I dreamed of doing it together, but it didn’t succeed.«

We can assume that Gilroy refers to a villain from another abandoned scenario that he was able this abandoned version scary producers, to write. The fact remains that the idea was a priori to return to a certain golden age of the saga. The rights of Fleming novels were indeed bought in the early 1960s. while the first adaptation with Sean Connery, James Bond 007 against Dr Nowent out to the cinema in 1962.

According to a source of The Playlistat some point, the broccolis were very enthusiastic about having a name like that of Soderbergh on the franchise (especially after his Oscar to Traffic in 2001), but Also ” terrified »By some of his ideas.

The same source also said that Soderbergh actually proposed an alternative franchise by James Bond. more violent, almost Elseworldsthis label of DC which has fun this abandoned version scary producers, imagining the heroes of the publishing house in different contexts and universes, regardless of the main narrative canon. Still. according to the media, The director would have even contacted David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino To have their support and muscle his speech against the Broccoli to convince them. Discussions in which Gilroy, he said, did not participate.

Paper The Playlist also recalled that before passing through the hands of Guy Ritchie, the film Very special agents: uncle code was to be directed by Soderbergh at the turn of the 2010s. This desire to make a film with a retro aesthetic of sixties He would have remained in the lead. since he also wanted to install the action of this other spy film in this abandoned version scary producers, the 1960s (the period at which the original NBC series took place).

For the moment. we do not know who will realize the next James Bondwhich will recover the role and more generally how this saga will be managed which will continue to be scrutinized.