Hey folks... this morning, Deadline Hollywood brings news that the 25th installment of the James Bond franchise has not yet been removed from its November 8th, 2019 release date, after the recent departure of Danny Boyle.
Deadline suggests that while the production is very tight-lipped about who is being considered, they have already reached out to Jean-Mark Vallee ("Big Little Lies", "Sharp Objects"), who is reportedly too busy to take on the film in the current schedule. The as-yet-untitled production still has 60 days to hire a director to replace Boyle. Whether the next director will be locked into the original Neal Purvis/Robert Wade script or the John Hodge script based on Boyle's story or will be allowed to draft a new one is dependent on how quickly the production can replace Boyle.
After Vallee, Edgar Wright is said to be a current frontrunner, as he has expressed interest in the job. Given his departure from ANT-MAN in 2014, I think hiring Wright on for a film that is pressed to begin production in 60 days would be, at best, a difficult fit. It seems logical that Wright would prefer to come to the series when it is ready to leave the Daniel Craig era behind with a new Bond instead of the transition period of Craig's likely last Bond outing. Also on the list are David Mackenzie (HELL OR HIGH WATER) and Yann Demange ('71).
Here's hoping the Broccoli and Wilson can make a deal that keeps their production on schedule whilst also producing a quality Bond film. Read the full Deadline Hollywood article here.
-- Precious Roy
