Jean-Marc Vallée is one of the most in-demand filmmakers working today. And when you take a glance at his recent filmography, you can easily see why. After helming the Oscar-winning “Dallas Buyers Club,” the director went on to direct Reese Witherspoon’s “Wild,” as well as the two recent HBO series “Big Little Lies” and “Sharp Objects.” This put him atop the shortlist for the new ‘Bond 25,’ after Danny Boyle’s departure, but according to a new report, Vallée took himself out of the running to tell a love story about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
According to Deadline, Vallée is set to direct a new biopic about the legendary Beatles frontman and his wife for Universal. The film is still in the early stages of development, so the exact details are still unknown. However, we do know that writer Anthony McCarten is on board to pen the script. For those not aware, McCarten is best known for his other biopics that include “The Theory of Everything,” “Darkest Hour,” and the upcoming “Bohemian Rhapsody.” So yeah, he seems like a smart choice to join Vallée.
READ MORE: Jean-Marc Vallée Won’t Be Directing ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 2
And as mentioned, the report also states that Vallée was on the top of Barbara Broccoli’s shortlist to replace Danny Boyle on ‘Bond 25.’ However, once he was approached to direct this Lennon/Ono biopic, he took himself off the list to focus on the new project. Eventually, the ‘Bond 25’ job went to director Cary Fukunaga. That being said, perhaps Vallée could helm a Bond film down the line?
The untitled Lennon/Ono biopic is produced by Yoko Ono herself, along with Michael De Luca, Josh Bratman, Nathan Ross, and the aforementioned McCarten and Vallée.
“We are all huge Beatles fans, and this is a dream come true,” Ross said. “There were inner and outer struggles John had, and family turmoil as a child, and things she had to endure before John’s tragic death. The thing we loved about the script was its stark honesty. You see so many biopic scripts where you can see that the cooperation of the subject’s family had something to do with the editorial, and that wasn’t the case here.”
“Everything Jean-Marc does, he leads with his heart and that was perfect for a love story that showed the acquiring of grace in the face of intolerable emotional pain, and overcoming adversity with love, peace and understanding,” Bratman said. “It is an especially poignant message today.”
There’s no release date set, but we’ll definitely update any news as it comes. “Bond 25” is set to hit theaters on February 14, 2020.