James Bond 25 director Cary Fukunaga reveals the movie’s script is still being developed. While Bond’s last adventure Spectre was another huge success, reviews for the movie were mixed. For many fans and critics, it failed to live up to 2012’s Skyfall, despite reteaming Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes. The plot twist revealing Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) was secretly behind most of Bond’s past adventures - and that the two were once adopted brothers - was also met with derision.
James Bond 25 has also taken a long time to come together. Spectre ended in such a way that it could have acted as Craig’s exit from the series, but after mulling on the decision for over a year, the actor finally committed to one final outing in 2017. For a time Danny Boyle was attached as director and started developing his own screenplay, only for the acclaimed director to step away over creative differences, with Craig reportedly vetoing Boyle’s casting choice for the lead villain.
While fans were worried about the status of James Bond 25 following Boyle’s exit, their fears were eased when Cary Fukunaga (True Detective season one) signed on. The director has been talking about the project with The Inquirer, revealing he will be carrying on from the character arc started in Casino Royale.
Fukunaga also responded to reports Q (Ben Whishaw) and Blofeld won’t be part of the next adventure and stated the movie doesn’t have a completed script yet.
In his first Bond movie, Casino Royale, he [Daniel Craig] brought an incredible amount of vulnerability and humanity to the character, which was a big shift from Pierce Brosnan’s run. In terms of what I can bring to change the character, Bond is on a character arc that started with Casino Royale, and I will be carrying that on. There will be changes, I am sure. As in any story, a character has to change in order [to have] a narrative.
Fukunaga is an incredibly exciting choice of director for James Bond 25, and he will almost certainly bring something fresh to the table. Craig has stated the next Bond will definitely be his last, and the long development time is likely a result of him wanting to make sure the movie has a strong concept. The movie will likely have to deal with the baggage of the Blofeld reveal at some point, since he was clearly set up as the next big villain. Whether that means Christoph Waltz will return is another question, as the character is famous for changing his appearance.
Who is saying those rumors? We haven’t finished the screenplay, so there is no way that anyone could know that. Those are two extraordinary actors, so if there is space for them in the story, I would absolutely want them there. But I don’t know yet what it’s going to be.
James Bond 25 is set to start filming early next year for a February 2020 release. There’s already talk about which actor will replace Craig in the role when he leaves, with Henry Cavill and Bodyguard star Richard Madden being two of the most recent rumors. In all likelihood, it’ll be 2021 at the earliest before Craig’s successor is announced.
More: Next James Bond Could Be GoT Star Richard Madden
Source: The Inquirer (via Empire)
- Bond 25 Release Date: 2021-10-08
