At one time, director Danny Boyle and his longtime screenwriter collaborator John Hodge had been tasked to develop the 25th installment of the James Bond franchise that would eventually morph into “No Time To Die,” the final outing for Daniel Craig as a the iconic MI6 Agent and would eventually exit over creative issues with the team over at EON.
Boyle is out doing press rounds to help promote his reunion with Alex Garland as their rage virus saga continues with a new trilogy starting with “28 Years Later” coming out on June 20, and briefly spoke to Business Insider about his current standing on a hypothetical return to the James Bond franchise and says his one regret was not shooting Hodge’s “really good” script.
READ MORE: 13 Films To See In June: ’28 Years Later,’ ‘F1,’ ‘Materialists,’ ‘Ballerina’ & More
“The thing I regret about that is the script was really good,” said Boyle of his version of the Bond movie that was given a major overhaul after his exit. “John Hodge is a wonderful writer.” When asked about his desire to tackle Bond again with Amazon MGM Studios securing full creative control (overseen by newly minted franchise producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman), Boyle was blunt by stating, “That ship has sailed.”
Hodge’s work seemingly was scrapped as he’s not a credited writer on “No Time To Die,” while longtime franchise screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade would end up with the credit alongside director Cary Joji Fukunaga and writing polishes from Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The script penned by Hodge revolved around a Russian villain and would still have ended with the death of James Bond (part of Craig’s agreement to return).
We’re still waiting on official news concerning a director and actor for the next iteration of James Bond, under Amazon’s creative control.
The director’s sentiment isn’t all that surprising given the relationship between Boyle and Hodge goes back to the underrated Edinburgh-set 1994 thriller “Shallow Grave” as the pair continued to work together on other films such as “Trainspotting,” “A Life Less Ordinary,” “The Beach,” “Trance,” and “T2 Trainspotting.”
With that said, Boyle has plenty to keep him occupied as “28 Years Later” hits theaters this week and there are two more installments on the way, thanks to Sony Pictures securing a deal and bankrolling the action horror trilogy. Sony isn’t waiting to see how audiences react as the next movie will be Nia DaCosta‘s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” coming out on January 16, 2026.
