You could argue that Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond is highlighted by Sam Mendes’ “Skyfall.” Moreso than the other films over the actor’s tenure as 007, “Skyfall” seems to be the high watermark for the franchise in recent years. So, when you talk about where the James Bond franchise needs to go in the future, now that Craig is no longer involved, Mendes seems like a good person to ask.
Speaking to Deadline, while promoting the festival debut of his new film, “Empire of Light,” filmmaker Sam Mendes discussed the future of James Bond. Mendes, as you probably remember, not only directed “Skyfall,” but he also returned with the next film in the series, “Spectre.” Those two films really did catapult 007 into a franchise that is now expected to pull in $1 billion at the box office. And he thinks Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is going to really find it difficult to replace Daniel Craig and continue the franchise into the future.
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“I don’t envy Barbara having to follow Daniel’s [Craig] five movies. He reinvigorated the franchise but the franchise is so huge that it’s very difficult for a younger actor to step into that,” said Mendes.
However, as much as he thinks the actor will have big shoes to fill in the 007 franchise, the filmmaker believes it’s really up to the next director to take James Bond in a new direction. A new direction that Mendes believes could be led by a woman’s presence behind the camera.
“I think that the actor playing Bond is going to evolve, the director has to evolve,” he said. “I think it would be wonderful to see a woman directing Bond. I think it would be wonderful.”
Fans have been discussing who might step into the shoes of James Bond after Daniel Craig’s departure for years now. Hell, even before Craig released “No Time to Die,” most of the conversation seemed to revolve around who’s next. But as Mendes points out, it’s not just the actor who is going to be difficult to find, but the next director is going to have to really change things up to keep the 007 franchise fresh.