Steven Soderbergh reveals how close he came to directing a James Bond movie

Steven Soderbergh came within a whisker of helming a James Bond movie, but “couldn’t figure it out” with 007 franchise overseer Barbara Broccoli.

The Ocean’s 11 filmmaker told the Happy Sad Confused Podcast that he “loves the world” of the Bond movies, but that he was unable to agree a vision with producers.

Read more: Troubled timeline of No Time to Die

“We were at odds about some things that were important,” said the 57-year-old Oscar-winner.

He added: “We had some great conversations. It was fun to think about, but we just couldn’t. The last 10 yards were, we just couldn’t do it, we couldn’t figure it out."

Watch: Trailer for James Bond adventure No Time to Die

It’s unclear which Bond movie Soderbergh might have directed, but he did reveal that elements of his Bond vision have made it into his other films, including 2011 actioner Haywire.

He said: “Aspects of it have shown up elsewhere. I would say, there are things in Haywire, in terms of its approach to the character, and it’s not a big movie, but there’s a little bit of activity in it.

“That’s a hint of the kind of attitude I was looking for."

Read more: Can you name every Bond film in 007 minutes?

No Time to Die will be the first James Bond movie directed by an American, with True Detective’s Cary Joji Fukunaga stepping up to the plate after Danny Boyle bowed out over creative differences.

The movie had been due for a release earlier this year, but has now been pushed to April 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the podcast interview, Soderbergh denied rumours that he was once on the verge of directing a Fantastic Four movie, stating the material “was not in my bag of interests growing up”.

Since he returned from retirement in 2016 to make Logan Lucky, Soderbergh has worked at a prolific rate, including helming a selection of movies for streaming services.

Read more: Soderbergh penned Sex, Lies and Videotape sequel in lockdown

Earlier this month, Soderbergh was announced as part of the production team for the 2021 Oscars ceremony, which is likely to take a very different form to previous years.

The ceremony is due to take place on April 25, several months later than its usual February date.

Watch: Steven Soderbergh joins team producing 2021 Oscars