It came as a shock to pretty much everyone earlier this week when Amazon MGM revealed that Denis Villeneuve would helm the next James Bond film. After all, DV is a busy guy, with “Dune: Messiah” up next and several other irons in the fire. How can he manage to develop the next 007 alongside that, “Cleopatra,” “Nuclear War,” etc?
READ MORE: Denis Villeneuve To Direct Next James Bond Movie
Well, news is trickling out that Villeneuve’s stay on his majesty’s secret service won’t be very long. In fact, Puck reports that Amazon MGM only wants DV for one Bond movie total, and they’re going to give him a short leash on the project. For one, Villeneuve won’t have final cut on the film, which raises eyebrows. And as of now, he’s not locked for a sequel or any of Amazon MGM’s other Bond plans that may or may not include spin-offs, streaming series, and the like.
The takeaway here is that newly minted Bond producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman don’t just want to hand off their franchise to an auteur and let Villeneuve have at it. This is a cautious, albeit ambitious, move by them. They paid top dollar for DV to get the next 007 off to a rousing start, but they don’t want to commit to a long-term relationship. And that’s fair: the Bond franchise has never been an auteur-driven franchise, and Amazon MGM also is still likely figuring out what direction they’ll take the series.
Still, the choice of Villeneuve is incredibly surprising, and Puck also notes that sources say even some in Amazon MGM’s top ranks were astonished at the news. But when one looks at the final list of five directors Pascal and Heyman had their eyes on for Bond, it’s clear it was a two-horse race between DV and Edward Berger. Paul King isn’t the man to helm a Bond film, and neither is Edgar Wright. And Jonathan Nolan hasn’t even directed a movie, so it’s strange he was even considered. That leaves Berger, and Villeneuve is the bigger name, with the bigger movies, and therefore makes a bigger splash. It’s wild that Villeneuve will make a Bond film, but on closer inspection it’s logical why Pascal and Heyman chose him over everyone else.
So, what’s next? Well, Villeneuve needs to make “Dune: Messiah,” which goes into production soon and shoots through the end of the year. But The InSneider reports that Amazon MGM will start developing a script based on DV’s concept to look over once he’s free, and the studio notably wants to move on from longtime Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Both names were behind the Daniel Craig 007 era, as well as two Pierce Brosnan ones, so consider this Amazon MGM clearing the decks. As for when Villeneuve will get around to casting his Bond? Honestly, who knows? Let’s call it 2027 at the earliest.
