With Danny Boyle exiting Bond 25 as director, it’s put a huge spanner in the works for the entire production. Most notably, the originally announced release date of November 8, 2019 is in serious jeopardy. When Boyle was still on board he was cutting it relatively close, as cameras were set to start rolling on only Saturday, December 8.
In addition to that, he was also credited as a co-writer alongside Trainspotting scribe John Hodge. So when Boyle left, so did Hodge. And while it was initially reported that perhaps producers Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, and star Daniel Craig would go back to the original script by Bond veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, that doesn’t seem likely now either.
Per Variety, producers are now searching for either a writer-director or a writer to come onboard, signalling that Bond 25 is totally starting from scratch, or at least going through major script rewrites. The project didn’t have an official title yet, nor confirmed shooting locations, so it’s hard to judge how much of either already-penned script is being kept.
But, of course, because the Bond series likes to use exotic locations from all over the world, the pre-production process is a rigorous one that starts months ahead of the actual film start date, and any changes here could prove disastrous.
It’s possible if producers get things together quickly that they could begin production in early January and just about keep the scheduled release date, but there seem to be a lot of balls in the air with very little concrete details nailed down.
Even if producers stuck with one of the existing scripts, directors they previously liked for the gig such as Denis Villeneuve, Yann Demange, and David Mackenzie are currently busy with their own projects and might not be available to step in quickly.
There have been rumours of Mission: Impossible franchise helmer Christopher McQuarrie stepping in since he’s proved himself with big-budget action, while there has also been a petition to hire a female director for the job, citing someone like Lynne Ramsay as a possibility for the gig, which would be exciting.
It’ll be an interesting next few weeks as Bond producers scramble to find the right person, but quickly enough so they can keep their precious release date. Stay tuned.
#Peace.Love.Bond25
