How a 1979 spy film became a massive, high-budget space odyssey for James Bond.

Art · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When the James Bond franchise pivoted from its original plans to capitalize on the science fiction craze of the late 1970s, it produced Moonraker. With a record-breaking budget and elaborate sets, the film sent 007 into orbit, forever changing the scale and ambition of the legendary spy series.

Originally, Eon Productions intended to follow The Spy Who Loved Me with For Your Eyes Only. However, the immense success of Star Wars and the concurrent test flights of the Space Shuttle by NASA prompted producers to switch gears. They turned to Ian Fleming’s 1955 novel Moonraker, though the film adaptation retained little more than the name of the villain, Hugo Drax, and his industrialist background. While Fleming’s book featured a Nazi plot, the film embraced contemporary science fiction trends, culminating in a laser battle on a space station.

The production was a massive undertaking, costing $34 million—more than double its predecessor. Because of high taxation in Britain, the team moved primary shooting to France, where production designer Ken Adam constructed the largest sets ever built in the country. These sets required over 222,000 man-hours to complete. Locations spanned the globe, including Venice, Rio de Janeiro, and the Tikal Mayan ruins in Guatemala, which served as the exterior for Drax’s Amazonian pyramid base.

Despite mixed reviews, the film’s visual effects earned Derek Meddings an Academy Award nomination. It became the highest-grossing film in the series at the time, earning $210.3 million worldwide, a record that held until 1995. The film is also remembered for the transformation of the henchman Jaws. Originally intended as a pure villain, he was turned into an ally after director Lewis Gilbert received fan mail from children asking why the character could not be a good guy. Today, Moonraker stands as a unique, ambitious chapter that pushed the boundaries of the Bond franchise.

The film also marked the final appearance of Bernard Lee as M, who passed away in 1981. Behind the scenes, the production was fraught with challenges, from Roger Moore’s health issues to a stuntman nearly falling to his death during the cable car sequence. Despite these difficulties, the film’s blend of spy craft and space opera cemented its place in cinematic history, proving that even the most grounded agents could find a home among the stars.

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