Years ago, Oscar-winning director Quentin Tarantino was said to be in the mix to potentially direct a James Bond movie, but it never worked out. Tarantino discussed this in an interview with Deadline, saying he was specifically trying to make a Casino Royale movie.

Tarantino said he was told that Eon, the company that owns the rights to James Bond movies, didn't have the rights to Casino Royale specifically. This is the reason why 1967's spy parody movie Casino Royale movie starring Woody Allen and Peter Sellers was able to exist outside the main series.

Tarantino and his team reached out to James Bond author Ian Fleming's people and inquired about making a Casino Royale film after 1994's Pulp Fiction.