The James Bond franchise used to be the most reliable in Hollywood. Even if a new actor was donning the famous tuxedo, or even if a new director was stepping behind the camera, audiences were practically guaranteed a new adventure with 007 every two years. Sure, there were a few exceptions every now and then, like the six-year gap between Timothy Dalton's Licence to Kill and Pierce Brosnan's Goldeneye. But speaking in broad terms, the idea of a lengthy wait between Bond movies is a relatively new phenomenon. The Daniel Craig era has been great for Bond fans in many ways, thanks to stellar films like Martin Campbell's revolutionary Casino Royale and Sam Mendes' masterful Skyfall. Yet even with great results, the road to those films has often felt arduous and needlessly complex. Four years passed between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, the longest wait between films that both starred the same actor. With behind-the-scenes issues after the mixed response to 2015's Spectre, it appeared the same lengthy delay would befall Bond 25, which will presumably be Daniel Craig's final outing as the superspy.
Well, we might be waiting even longer now.
The hiring of Oscar winner Danny Boyle as the director of the 25th Bond adventure nabbed many headlines back in February, and deservedly so. Even as rumors of Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan's involvement fizzled out, the hiring of a major auteur like Boyle signaled another big step for the franchise after the hugely successful Mendes age (I like Spectre, leave me in peace).
But today, things changed with the help of a single tweet from the official James Bond account. It read:
"Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25."
Short, simple, and to the point. The Boyle era is over before it ever began. When the Boyle news first broke, it was reported that frequent collaborator John Hodge had a great idea for the script, catching the attention of EON and the producers. Things officially came together in May when Boyle was confirmed as the director, prepping the film for a November 2019 release. Now, everything's in question. Will Hodge's script still be used? Is the 2019 release in jeopardy? Will Craig hold firm in his involvement? In terms of the latter, I assume he's remaining on board the project, simply because his name is featured so prominently in the statement. As for the other questions, it's anyone's guess.
Fans are already floating a number of names as replacements- Villeneuve, Nolan, Yann Demange (the previous front-runner, Lynne Ramsay, and even Mission: Impossible- Fallout's Christopher McQuarrie. To be honest, I don't really feel like speculating. If I was in the mood for it, I would note that this lends some credence to those Idris Elba news that swarmed the internet last weekend. But as a fan of the series, this is just downright frustrating. As we stare down another record hiatus, what was once a fun parlor game now feels exhausting. How hard can it be to make a good James Bond movie? Just make this a tribute to Craig's rendition of the character and move on. At this point, it feels like stunning incompetency on the part of the producers.
Bond 25 will hit theaters on November 8, 2019. For now.
Images: Fox Searchlight, Sony
Well, we might be waiting even longer now.
The hiring of Oscar winner Danny Boyle as the director of the 25th Bond adventure nabbed many headlines back in February, and deservedly so. Even as rumors of Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan's involvement fizzled out, the hiring of a major auteur like Boyle signaled another big step for the franchise after the hugely successful Mendes age (I like Spectre, leave me in peace).
But today, things changed with the help of a single tweet from the official James Bond account. It read:
"Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25."
Short, simple, and to the point. The Boyle era is over before it ever began. When the Boyle news first broke, it was reported that frequent collaborator John Hodge had a great idea for the script, catching the attention of EON and the producers. Things officially came together in May when Boyle was confirmed as the director, prepping the film for a November 2019 release. Now, everything's in question. Will Hodge's script still be used? Is the 2019 release in jeopardy? Will Craig hold firm in his involvement? In terms of the latter, I assume he's remaining on board the project, simply because his name is featured so prominently in the statement. As for the other questions, it's anyone's guess.
Fans are already floating a number of names as replacements- Villeneuve, Nolan, Yann Demange (the previous front-runner, Lynne Ramsay, and even Mission: Impossible- Fallout's Christopher McQuarrie. To be honest, I don't really feel like speculating. If I was in the mood for it, I would note that this lends some credence to those Idris Elba news that swarmed the internet last weekend. But as a fan of the series, this is just downright frustrating. As we stare down another record hiatus, what was once a fun parlor game now feels exhausting. How hard can it be to make a good James Bond movie? Just make this a tribute to Craig's rendition of the character and move on. At this point, it feels like stunning incompetency on the part of the producers.
Bond 25 will hit theaters on November 8, 2019. For now.
Images: Fox Searchlight, Sony
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