Sean Connery’s career effectively ended after this superhero box office bomb

2003’s “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was the film that finally brought down Sean Connery. 40 years after its appearance in ‘Dr. No,’ the film that launched cinema’s most enduring franchiseConnery became so unhappy working on Stephen Norrington’s terrible superhero film that he retired from acting. The Scottish star was so repulsed by his experience in the film that even a call from Steven Spielberg about a potential return to the Indiana Jones franchise couldn’t convince him to return.

Connery has come a long way to becoming an actorto finally find himself in show business thanks to a short football career and a stint in the Navy. When he became an actor, he became one of the greatest in the world, mainly after taking on the role of England’s greatest spy. But what’s even more impressive than defining a cultural icon is how Connery managed to break out of the stereotype that inevitably came with the role.

Landing James Bond Was a Double-Edged Sword for Connerywho was capable of much more than portraying the good-natured spy. In 1973’s “The Offense,” Connery played a jaded, beleaguered police officer who unintentionally kills a suspect. It was one of many films in which the actor attempted to go so brazenly against the grain, and although it took a while, the star eventually managed to disassociate his name from that of 007. As “The Offense” director Sidney Lumet once said, The Hollywood Reporter Connery’s profile, “Most actors are either leading men or character actors, but Sean is one of the few stars to encompass both.” Finally, Connery proved it to the masses.

After charting such an impressive course and overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Connery’s seemingly unwavering passion for acting would eventually be dashed by a crappy comic book movie.

Apart from the series “Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta”, Hollywood has not been very adept at adapting the works of Alan Moore. Of course, Roger Ebert Loved Zack Snyder’s Controversial ‘Watchmen’ Adaptation, Giving the Film a Perfect Scorebut no one else thinks “Watchmen” is perfect. “Constantine” was ok, as was “From Hell”. But by far the worst movie based on a Moore comic book storyline is “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.”

This 2003 steampunk superhero slog uses characters from the comic book series of the same name by Moore and Kevin O’Neill, but follows a completely original plot. In retrospect, this was a mistake, as the “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” is widely considered to be one of the worst superhero movies ever made, even though it has become Tubi’s obsession in 2025.

Leading this certified stinker was 73-year-old Sean Connery, who played the titular group’s frontman, Allan Quatermain. This group consisted of several super-powered figures from literary history, including Mina Harker from “Dracula”, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dorian Gray, Secret Service Agent Tom Sawyer and Captain Nemo. The superhero team is tasked with thwarting a terrorist group led by a mysterious figure known as The Fantom (Richard Roxburgh), who has managed to bring the world to the brink of a global war. With Connery at the forefront, you’d think the film at least had something to offer. Plus, Stephen Norrington – who had made one of the best and most overlooked superhero films ever made with 1998’s “Blade” – was directing. Alas, the film was so bad that it prompted Connery to quit acting altogether.

“The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” wasn’t the biggest box office disaster, but it wasn’t a success either. The film made $179 million against a budget of 78 million dollars. Worse still, it was slammed by critics, including Jamie Russell of the band BBC writing that the film was “nothing more and nothing less than an extraordinary waste of time and money”. Roger Ebert complained about how it “delves into incomprehensible action, idiotic dialogue, inexplicable motivations, causes without effects, effects without causes, and general insanity”, surmising that the film was nothing less than a “mess”. With that in mind, a 17% review score on Rotten Tomatoes It’s not really too bad.

No wonder Sean Connery has had enough at this point. The actor told British Paper The Times (via Geek den) that making “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was “a nightmare”, adding: “That experience had a big influence on me. It made me think about showbiz. I’m tired of dealing with idiots.” Clearly, it wasn’t necessarily the reception to the film that caused him to retire, but the experience of making it, with Connery accusing Stephen Norrington of being “crazy”. He was so opposed to appearing on a film set that when Stephen Spielberg contacted him about an appearance in ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ from 2008, Connery turned it downwriting to the director: “At the end of the day, retirement is so much fun.”

Unfortunately, this means that “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was the Scottish star’s final role in a live-action film. Connery delivered a surreal James Bond final performance in a 2005 video game and even came out of retirement to lend his voice to one of the the worst films in Connery’s work with “Sir Billi” in 2008.