007: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Spectre

After breaking all kinds of box office records with Skyfall, Daniel Craig’s James Bond returned three years later in Spectre, which tied all his big-screen outings together into a collective continuity for the first time in the entire 007 franchise. Sam Mendes returned to the director’s chair for Spectre, aiming to go bigger and bolder than his previous contribution to the Bond saga.

While Christoph Waltz made for a chilling Blofeld and a handful of action sequences stood out as exhilarating gems, Spectre was generally disappointing for Bond fans. But that doesn’t mean it was any easier to produce than the previous 007 entries.

10 Nicolas Winding Refn Turned Down The Chance To Direct Spectre

Nicolas Winding Refn, the acclaimed director of the neo-noir masterpiece Drive, has revealed that he was offered the chance to helm Spectre and turned it down.

Before Sam Mendes decided to return for another go-around, the producers considered Cary Fukunaga, who’s currently directing the next Bond movie No Time to Die, and Christopher Nolan, who was named as the dream Bond director by associate producer Gregg Wilson.

9 Dwayne Johnson Wanted To Play Mr. Hinx

Dwayne Johnson was interested in playing the musclebound henchman Mr. Hinx in Spectre, but MGM and Eon deemed the biggest movie star in the world to be too expensive and instead cast fellow wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista, a lifelong Bond fan.

Interestingly enough, Johnson’s grandfather Peter Maivia played a minor villainous role in the Connery-starring Bond film You Only Live Twice.

8 Gary Oldman Was Considered To Play Blofeld

Christoph Waltz proved to be the perfect choice to play Oberhauser, who unsurprisingly turns out to be Blofeld, in Spectre, but he wasn’t the producers’ first choice for the part. They considered Gary Oldman – who played iconic villains in Leon, True Romance, and JFK – for the role, but he was unwilling to commit to the six-month shooting schedule.

Chiwetel Ejiofor was considered for an undisclosed role that’s believed to be either Blofeld or C. Penelope Cruz was considered to play Lucia Sciarra before Monica Bellucci was cast.

7 Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, And Radiohead Were Considered For The Theme Song

Before Sam Smith was hired to write the theme song for Spectre, the producers considered recruiting Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Radiohead, Rihanna, and Sia for the job.

Radiohead enjoyed the song they wrote for the movie so much that they released it for free on Christmas Day.

6 The Movie Went Into Production Without A Solid Third Act

The 2014 hack of Sony’s servers by the Guardians of Peace revealed that executives had serious problems with the Spectre script written by John Logan. Specifically, they had problems with the script’s third act in which Bond and Madeleine were locked in a desert prison by Blofeld.

Filming began before the filmmakers were happy with the third act. Skyfall writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were brought in to fix it, but the problems persisted for months. Sam Mendes admitted on Roger Deakins’ podcast that this negatively impacted the film.

5 Monica Bellucci Previously Auditioned To Play A Bond Girl In Tomorrow Never Dies

Before being cast in Spectre and becoming the oldest performer to play a Bond girl, Monica Bellucci auditioned to play a different Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies.

According to a Playboy interview with Pierce Brosnan, Bellucci screen-tested for the role of Paris Carver, but Teri Hatcher ended up clinching the part.

4 The Opening Scene Influenced Real Day Of The Dead Celebrations

The opening sequence of Spectre takes place during the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City. The parades in the movie feature giant skeletons.

Giant skeletons had never been a part of Day of the Dead celebrations before Spectre came out, but the movie made it look so cool that the celebrations have since adopted that iconography. However, this has been met with a mixed response.

3 Daniel Craig’s Spectre Salary Made Him The Highest-Paid Bond Actor

Daniel Craig reportedly received a salary of £25.4 million for starring in Spectre – which is roughly $39 million in U.S. currency – making him the highest-paid actor to play Bond.

After the movie came out, Craig said he’d rather slit his wrists than do it again, but a lot of people would do pretty much anything for $39 million.

2 Two Scenes Needed To Be Toned Down To Secure A 12A Rating From The BBFC

When the makers of Spectre submitted the movie to the BBFC for its UK certification, they asked for advice on how to land a 12A rating before their formal submission.

The organization required two scenes to be cut down. These scenes were Mr. Hinx gouging out a S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent’s eyes and Mr. White’s suicide scene.

1 Bond Was Originally Going To Shoot Blofeld In The Final Scene

In an early draft of the script for Spectre, Bond was going to shoot Blofeld on the bridge in the final scene. However, the producers decided that this ending would be anticlimactic and changed it so that 007 would spare the villain’s life.

Plus, this left the door open for Blofeld to return in sequels. In the early Connery movies, Blofeld was a recurring villain appearing in a handful of movies.

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Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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