Drive Director Says He Turned Down Last James Bond Movie

Drive and Only God Forgives director Nicolas Winding Refn was approached to direct the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre, he said in a new interview with The Telegraph.

Director Sam Mendes was not always on board to helm Spectre, and the team at Eon Productions came to Refn to see if might be interested. While he didn't share any specifics about his talks with the Bond camp, Refn said, "I just know this way I can do whatever I want, and that outweighs any money anyone can give me."

Refn is working on a Bond-like movie, the spy thriller The Avenging Silence, which he wrote alongside veteran Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Asked if this is "his Bond movie," Winding Refn said, "Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don't know yet."

His latest movie, The Neon Demon, stars Jena Malone, Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, and Christina Hendricks. It opened in select theaters last month.

Winding Refn does have some kind of connection to gaming, too. Recently, he met with Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, though there is no word on what they talked about.

As for the future of the Bond series, Mendes has confirmed he won't be back for the next movie, while Daniel Craig is also reportedly not a lock to reprise the superspy role.