You knew it was only a matter of time. And since it’s been a couple days since Danny Boyle was announced as leaving ‘Bond 25,’ reports are starting to come out about possible replacements. No, these aren’t names that are pure fan speculation like Kathryn Bigelow, Christopher Nolan, and Ryan Coogler. According to Deadline, these are the four names that might all have a shot at the 25th entry in the ‘Bond’ franchise. And boy, some of these names are surprising.
First, and probably foremost to our readers, Deadline says that Edgar Wright is a name that has been linked to the newly open directing job. This is definitely a bit of a head-scratcher, as Wright (like Boyle) is a filmmaker with a very unique, and visually interesting, style that sort of contradicts what we normally see in a 007 film. The “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “Baby Driver” writer-director would almost certainly want to take a stab at the script, or at the very least put his stamp on whatever the producers already have, which means that a delay would be inevitable. But as we know, this is Daniel Craig’s last go as the lead spy, and it was clear with the Boyle hiring that he wants a big name to usher in his finale.
Another interesting name on the list is “Hell or High Water” filmmaker David Mackenzie. He is currently prepping the release of his Netflix film (and potential awards contender) “Outlaw King,” and will obviously be free to take the job. However, much like Wright, he’s not a “hired gun” and would most likely want to put his own flavor in whatever ‘Bond 25’ film that is already prepped.
The report also claims that Jean-Marc Vallee, who has been busy recently over at HBO with two limited series “Big Little Lies” and “Sharp Objects,” has already been “approached” by the people behind the scenes at ‘Bond,’ but the “Dallas Buyers Club” filmmaker is unlikely to take the job, as his schedule might prevent it.
And finally, the lead candidate is Yann Demange, the director behind “’71” and the upcoming “White Boy Rick.” Interestingly enough, Demange was the frontrunner for the job (and apparent hire) but was passed up by the producers when Boyle started to pop up as a potential candidate. Maybe his pride won’t preclude him from taking the job that was seemingly taken from him by the hotshot big-name director that eventually walked away.
Ultimately, it appears the decision will come down to what the producers want to do with the film at this point. Will they stick to the John Hodges-penned script that Boyle was developing or go back to the previously written script from longtime ‘Bond’ writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade? Based on that decision, and how fast they want to go into production, we’ll probably find out which of the 4 filmmakers above will get the job.
That being said, if it’s between any of these 4, then ‘Bond 25’ is in good hands.
