While he might not be a household name, the James Bond franchise owes a lot to director Martin Campbell. Following the Pierce Brosnan era, the series pivoted to something grittier, grounded, and more contemporary in feeling with “Casino Royale.” The stakes were raised by putting this gear shift on the shoulders of newcomer Daniel Craig. But Campbell (and Craig) nailed it. “Casino Royale” was a hit, and a terrific film to boot (for my money, it’s still the best Craig-era Bond movie). The success of the movie paved the path to the $1 billion haul of “Skyfall.” But what’s most surprising is that Campbell has been in no rush to return to one of the biggest film properties in the world.
The director’s first taste with the series was with 1995’s “GoldenEye,” which was also a big hit, but he waited another decade before jumping back into the spy game with “Casino Royale.” And while he was very much in demand by the producers, but Campbell grew weary of repeating himself. And he’s not sure if he’ll return for a third 007 movie.
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“I don’t know. I might be, so never say never. I didn’t after ‘GoldenEye.’ I don’t know if it was sort of arrogance or whatever I don’t know. I just sort of said no to it. I was pretty much offered every one after that,” he said. “But I just felt that I was repeated [things]. Another control room to blow up; another nutcase taking over the world. And also there is something refreshing about starting a new Bond, and particularly with Pierce [Brosnan]. It was sort of a Cold War sort of situation then, and we had Judi Dench for the first time. So there was a kind of excitement to doing it.”
” ‘Casino Royale’ was the same thing. Much the same reasons, actually,” Campbell added.
Certainly, the director has followed his muse which has taken him everywhere from helming the disastrous “Green Lantern” starring Ryan Reynolds, to next week’s “The Foreigner,” which reunites him with former Bond, Pierce Brosnan.
The next Bond movie isn’t due until 2019, so there’s still plenty of time to lure Campbell back.
