We can’t really say we’re all too surprised, but the news is circulating that EON Productions have officially axed “Bond 23.”
News for “Bond 23” certainly didn’t look good when earlier this year EON announced that they had “suspended development” on the film due to the financial woes at MGM. However, the latest news is that the next installment, originally slated to be directed by Sam Mendes and based on a script by Peter Morgan, has been canned.
While Harry Knowles had an aneurysm over the news, it’s really not all that shocking. Keeping a movie in active development costs money, and it was only a matter of time before EON would be forced to completely halt movement on the film. With MGM still seeking debt relief and sorting out their next steps, it seems all their eggs are in “The Hobbit” basket with a presumed January start being eyed. We doubt they have enough money in their already empty purse to try and navigate bringing Bond back to the big screen too.
EON grimly states, “We do not know when development will resume and cannot comment further at this stage” and really, until the MGM situation is resolved, Bond won’t be back. The studio owns partial rights to the franchise and EON will have to wait until MGM gets bought out or miraculously sorts out their situation and gets back in business. But either scenario will not happen any time soon, and certainly their major priority is get to the camera-ready “The Hobbit” rolling first.
It’s not known yet if when making a Bond movie becomes viable again if any of the talent will be back but it will be a shame if Daniel Craig, an absolutely cracking Bond, will only get two films as 007 under his belt.
