Well crap. Back in May we reported that Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, who has given us some incredible films like TRAINSPOTTING, 28 DAYS LATER, SUNSHINE, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, 127 HOURS, STEVE JOBS and more – who was also a name that’s been brought up before as a potential director for the James Bond franchise before, though Boyle himself shot down the idea a few years back saying he preferred having a more limited budget to overcome – had been announced officially as the director for Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, this coming after his being reportedly at the top of EON Productions and MGM’s list. So he was in, and now he’s out.
Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25. pic.twitter.com/0Thl116eAd
— James Bond (@007) August 21, 2018
If for some strange reason you’ve never seen any of Danny’s work, his movies typically feature a sleek and highly-intense style in their presentation, and at times an almost dream-like quality. The idea of him handling Bond was very exciting for me, as I’ve been a huge fan of his work for decades now… in addition to being a major fan of the 007 franchise. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who are the two top producers on the Bond franchise, gave an official statement back in May on Boyle’s hiring:
We are delighted to announce that the exceptionally talented Danny Boyle will be directing Daniel Craig in his fifth outing as James Bond in the 25th installment of the franchise. We will begin shooting Bond 25 at Pinewood Studios in December with our partners at MGM and thrilled that Universal will be our international distributor.
And it was noteworthy that Boyle has already handled Daniel Craig as James Bond thanks to directing the humorous intro to the 2012 London Olympics, in which 007 escorts the real Queen Elizabeth to the opening ceremony (see the video below). The last two Bond films, SKYFALL (2012) and SPECTRE (2015), were successfully helmed by Sam Mendes and are the two highest-grossing entries in the franchise to date (worldwide, SKYFALL made $1.1 billion, SPECTRE made $880 million). Word has is December 3, 2018 is still the scheduled start date for production, and the 25th Bond installment is scheduled for release in the UK on October 25, 2019 and the USA on November 8, 2019.
So who takes the job now? Fans have practically begged for someone like Christopher Nolan to consider it, and Martin Campbell (who directed GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE) could potentially return, but there are already rumors swirling that Christopher McQuarrie may be considered as the new director for this one. McQuarrie has been working closely with Tom Cruise directing JACK REACHER, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION and most recently MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT… and if you saw FALLOUT, it feels like you’re watching a really good James Bond adventure anyway, so he would be a natural fit for the 007 franchise. We’ll see what the future holds, but is a shame to think about what Boyle’s vision on Craig’s last outing could have been.