With so much news arriving on the James Bond front on what feels like a daily basis, you'd be forgiven for forgetting that the 25th Bond movie is, in fact, still happening. Speaking as a huge fan of the franchise, even I started tuning things out after a while. The fifth and presumably final Bond adventure with Daniel Craig seemed to be moving forward smoothly with director Danny Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge, but it all fell apart when Boyle made the decision to leave over creative differences. Word later got out that Hodge's screenplay was being scrapped, and everyone pretty much assumed that the November 2019 release date was impossible. EON and the Broccoli family began looking at prospective directors, including Denis Villeneuve (busy with Dune), David Mackenzie, and White Boy Rick's Yann Demange. And in the end, they made a surprising and thrilling choice.
Cary Joji Fukunaga, the director of Beasts of No Nation, season 1 of True Detective, and Netflix's upcoming Maniac, will be behind the camera for Bond 25. The official 007 Twitter account revealed the news this morning, in a series of tweets that read:
"Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig announced today that Bond 25 will begin filming at Pinewood Studios on 4 March 2019 under the helm of director, Cary Joji Fukunaga with a worldwide release date of 14 February 2020. "We are delighted to be working with Cary. His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure." said Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli."
I woke up to this news earlier today, and my immediate thoughts were all over the place. But above all else, my reaction can be summed up in one word: whoa. I mean, it would have been very easy for Wilson and Broccoli to come back with a B-list director, somebody they could easily control in order to make a safe and satisfying final chapter for Daniel Craig's Bond. Instead, they picked a true visionary, someone who has made a career out of his artistic brilliance and uncompromising talent. Of course, this led to a number of Twitter jokes about Fukunaga's future exit from the franchise, as he's developed a reputation for being somewhat difficult to work with (he left WB/New Line's IT over creative differences). For the sake of the Bond series, I hope everything goes smoothly. If it does, I have a feeling we're going to see something truly special come February 2020.
To be honest, I'm a little disappointed by the release date delay, since Bond is almost intrinsically linked with that November slot. But if it means we're getting a Fukunaga-directed Bond flick and a Rian Johnson/Daniel Craig murder mystery, I'm all for it. This is genuinely thrilling news. Maybe the long wait will be worth it after all.
Oh, and a fun bit of trivia- Fukunaga is the first American director to helm a chapter in the Bond series. So we'll see if that has an impact in the coming years.
Bond 25 will be released on February 14, 2020.
Image courtesy of Netflix
Poster: Sony/IMDb
Cary Joji Fukunaga, the director of Beasts of No Nation, season 1 of True Detective, and Netflix's upcoming Maniac, will be behind the camera for Bond 25. The official 007 Twitter account revealed the news this morning, in a series of tweets that read:
"Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig announced today that Bond 25 will begin filming at Pinewood Studios on 4 March 2019 under the helm of director, Cary Joji Fukunaga with a worldwide release date of 14 February 2020. "We are delighted to be working with Cary. His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure." said Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli."
I woke up to this news earlier today, and my immediate thoughts were all over the place. But above all else, my reaction can be summed up in one word: whoa. I mean, it would have been very easy for Wilson and Broccoli to come back with a B-list director, somebody they could easily control in order to make a safe and satisfying final chapter for Daniel Craig's Bond. Instead, they picked a true visionary, someone who has made a career out of his artistic brilliance and uncompromising talent. Of course, this led to a number of Twitter jokes about Fukunaga's future exit from the franchise, as he's developed a reputation for being somewhat difficult to work with (he left WB/New Line's IT over creative differences). For the sake of the Bond series, I hope everything goes smoothly. If it does, I have a feeling we're going to see something truly special come February 2020.
To be honest, I'm a little disappointed by the release date delay, since Bond is almost intrinsically linked with that November slot. But if it means we're getting a Fukunaga-directed Bond flick and a Rian Johnson/Daniel Craig murder mystery, I'm all for it. This is genuinely thrilling news. Maybe the long wait will be worth it after all.
Oh, and a fun bit of trivia- Fukunaga is the first American director to helm a chapter in the Bond series. So we'll see if that has an impact in the coming years.
Bond 25 will be released on February 14, 2020.
Image courtesy of Netflix
Poster: Sony/IMDb
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