At this point, it’s hard to believe that the 25th James Bond film will ever see the light of day. After two films, “Skyfall” and “Spectre,” from helmer Sam Mendes, ‘Bond’ producers have been on what seems like a never-ending search for a new director. With names like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve being thrown around, it looks like they’ve finally settled on Danny Boyle as their filmmaker of choice.
While rumors have swirled about if, and when, Boyle would have time for “Bond 25,” it looks like the director is finally setting the record straight. At a special screening of his upcoming FX drama “Trust,” Boyle spoke to Metro and said, “We are working on a [“Bond 25”] script right now. And it all depends on that really. I am working on a Richard Curtis script at the moment. We hope to start shooting that in six or seven weeks. Then ‘Bond’ would be right at the end of the year. But we are working on them both right now.”
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The Richard Curtis script he mentions is for a previously reported comedy/musical film that he’s supposed to helm next. When news first broke about this new comedy film, as well as Boyle’s potential involvement in “Bond 25,” James Bond fans wondered if Boyle would have time to do both. Directing two films in a year isn’t completely unheard of, but when one is a massive blockbuster like ‘Bond,’ then normally filmmakers like to work on months of pre-production before filming begins. It sounds like Boyle is just really expediting the process.
Of course, the script has to be great, first.
“We’ve got an idea, John Hodge, the screenwriter, and I have got this idea, and John is writing it at the moment. And it all depends on how it turns out. It would be foolish of me to give any of it away,” said Boyle.
As we previously discussed, ‘Bond’ producers, and star Daniel Craig, had hoped for a much earlier start date for production, but were only willing to delay if Boyle would come aboard and the Hodge script was up to par. That’s still the plan.
So, it seems like the ‘Bond 25’ director search has, essentially, come to an end. It’s been a hell of a rollercoaster ride!
