There’s been a lot of talk lately over who will take over the director’s chair for the next Bond movie.
Christopher Nolan has effectively ruled himself out of the running. Sicario and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve was mentioned but he has decided to direct Dune instead, and everyone had expected MGM to announce Yann Demange (’71, upcoming true-life crime-drama White Boy Rick) to take up the mantle after Sam Mendes directed Skyfall and Spectre to massive blockbuster success.
However, now that AnnaPurna Pictures (Zero Dark Thirty, Phantom Thread) have successfully won the distribution rights to the Bond franchise after a bidding war with previous rights holders Sony, they want to go in a new direction. According to Variety, their major front-runner is none other than Danny Boyle.
Boyle has previously directed the likes of 28 Days Later, Trainspotting, Sunshine, The Beach, Steve Jobs, 127 Hours and the Best Picture Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, so he is obviously enough of a genre chameleon that he could absolutely stick the landing for a Bond movie.
As per the report by Variety, Boyle is apparently very keen on the project, so it could be a match made in heaven (plus Boyle and Daniel Craig have worked together before for that London Olympics opening ceremony), but with a release date set for November 2019, a concrete confirmation sooner rather than later should be expected.
