Filmmaker Steven Spielberg was eager to direct a James Bond film but he was turned down twice by the franchise’s longtime producer Cubby Broccoli, Spielberg recalled in a recent interview.

Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, the Disclosure Day director said, “I have regrets that they didn’t approach me to direct a Bond film. I approached Cubby Broccoli (James Bond franchise producer) after Jaws was a big hit. I’d always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw Dr. No, so I called Cubby Broccoli after Jaws and volunteered. I said, ‘If you need a director, I would love to direct one.’ And he said no and he moved on.”

The Oscar-winning filmmaker tried his luck again after the success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Around that time, Broccoli contacted him seeking permission to use the film’s iconic five-note musical motif in 1979’s Moonraker.

"I said, 'I'll make you a deal. I'll give you permission to use the five notes if you let me direct a Bond film.’ And he said no. But I gave him the five notes anyway,” Spielberg recounted.

“They consistently turned me down. He never explained why he wasn’t letting me into the Bond family,” the 79-year-old director added.

Ironically, that rejection paved the way for another iconic franchise. Spielberg said that when he shared the story with George Lucas in 1977, while the two were vacationing in Hawaii ahead of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope, Lucas had a different idea.

“When I told that story to George Lucas, he said, ‘I have something better than Bond. It’s called Indiana Smith,’ which is what it was called at the time. He told me the premise of the Indiana Jones series, and that’s how I got that job.”

Spielberg would go on to direct four films in the Indiana Jones franchise, creating one of cinema’s most enduring adventure series.

Asked whether he would still be interested in directing a Bond film, Spielberg quipped, “My answer would be: ‘You can’t afford me.’”

The James Bond franchise is now under Amazon MGM Studios, with Dune director Denis Villeneuve set to helm the next instalment.

Steven Spielberg’s latest directorial venture, Disclosure Day, is currently running in theatres.