Dr. Yes
Katcy Stephan
Yes.
Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond film, Amazon MGM Studios has revealed, with Tanya Lapointe signing on as an executive producer. As previously announced, Amy Pascal and David Heyman will serve as producers.
“Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since ‘Dr. No’ with Sean Connery. I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory,” Villeneuve said. “I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor. Amy, David, and I are absolutely thrilled to bring him back to the screen. Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios for their trust.”
I'm kicking myself a bit right now because following the news earlier this year of Amazon's full take over of the Bond franchise from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson – for a lot of moneypennies – I had intended to write a longer piece about why I thought it could actually work out well for the franchise. A zag in the anti-Amazon zig pieces, as it were. And I hinted at my main angle in the closing of the piece I did write on the news:
One more thing: might there be an ultimate silver-lining in this news in the form of a Christopher Nolan-directed Bond? Everyone is well aware of his long-standing interest in the notion, but also that he would have undoubtedly needed complete creative control. You know, the kind Broccoli and Wilson just ceded to Amazon...
Well, I never got around to the piece – which is both the worst and most common thing any writer will say – because Amazon beat me to it. No, it's not Christopher Nolan, but it's the next best thing – and perhaps even a better thing in many ways – in the form of his very close friend Denis Villeneuve.
Just a week ago, Matt Belloni hinted at this possibility in his newsletter for Puck. As I noted at the time:
It sounds like Edward Berger has already made his pitch to direct the next Bond movie — the first true Amazon Bond. But also in the running are Edgar Wright, Paul King, and… Denis Villeneuve, which would obviously be amazing. One name Matt Belloni doesn’t bring up here? Christopher Nolan. BUT he does mention his brother, Jonathan Nolan, is making his pitch…
Without a mention of (Christopher) Nolan in that list, it seemed pretty clear who the dream candidate would be. And voilà, as Villeneuve might say.
Again, this is incredible news for the franchise. The people behind-the-scenes obviously matter – and arguably none have mattered more than the Broccoli family to one franchise over the decades – but at the end of the day, they don't direct the movie. The director does. And while the Bond franchise has had many good directors over the years – Terence Young, Guy Hamilton, and Martin Campbell jump to mind – Villeneuve immediately shoots right to the top of that list.
Prior to him, the name that really stands out would probably be Sam Mendes, he was a huge get at the time thanks to his pedigree (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, etc). Some would consider him to be a fabled "auteur", but with Bond under Broccoli, you simply couldn't be one. There were rules and you had to follow them, no matter what. Skyfall ended up being good enough – and massively successful – even after inflation! – that he got a second stab with Spectre, which was less good and did less well.
But Villeneuve is a capital 'A' Auteur. I mean, he's even French (Canadian)! Aside from Nolan and perhaps Quentin Tarantino, he's probably the name most associated with the label still working in their prime right now.1 Just like with those two, there was no chance that Villeneuve was going to sign on without full creative control. Perhaps he would have pre-Blade Runner 2049. But certainly not post-Dune. He's fully in that new echelon now. And so this will be a first for Bond.
So the studio, the producers, and the director is now set. The next question – before the big one – will be who is going to write the movie? I'm guessing Villeneuve, as a massive Bond fan, will want a shot to at least co-write the script. And I wouldn't be shocked if previous collaborators and brought back on board, perhaps his Dune buddies in Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts.
Then, yes, who plays Bond? And does Villeneuve have any say over that? My suspicion would be that they're already close to knowing who they want but wanted the creative force on board to give the final sign off. Variety has the exhaustive list of basically everyone who is British of a certain age. But it's probably a handful of people really in the running right now. And yes, one is undoubtedly the long-rumored front-runner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.2
Does it hurt that he's likely met with Broccoli in the past? Or if any of the others have for that matter? Probably not, it may actually help. Remember that she and Wilson retain ownership rights and this would be a nice way to bridge the old world and the new one. Arguably the most important element of their stewardship was picking the right Bond actor. If they're in the loop on the next one, it's a nice recognition of something they've done so well over the years.
Interestingly enough, Villeneuve hasn't worked in the past with any of the front-runners for the role, so that's also a nice clean slate.3
Next up: timing. It's well known that Villeneuve's next project currently setting up for production is Dune: Messiah – aka Dune 3. He's said that will be the last of that franchise for him and clearly it was fast-tracked after the success of Dune: Part Two. Before that, it was thought that Rendezvous with Rama, the Arthur C. Clarke story, would be his next project. That undoubtedly gets pushed again for Bond. Amazon will move heaven and Earth (and spaceships orbiting Earth in the heavens) to get the franchise into production, but they cannot move Arrakis.
And again, the movie still needs to be written! And cast! The best we can probably hope for is a mid-to-late-2026 production start and a late-2027 release. But it could slip to 2028. I've written about such a lull before:
There have been lulls before – notably the six years between Timothy Dalton's License to Kill and Pierce Brosnan's first foray (after a long courtship) in Goldeneye. The more recent six year stretch between Spectre and No Time to Die was, of course, mainly due to COVID. And specifically because of the theatrical ideal that Broccoli insisted on maintaining. We're past three years now since that last Bond, with still no next Bond having been cast, let alone a script or director being set. There's seemingly no way this new lull isn't at least five years – and potentially a lot longer. Potentially indefinitely!
And even in the best case scenario, say they're able to get a new Bond out there in late 2026, that would mean there would have been a stretch of only two James Bond films in a decade. That has never happened before – even after Brosnan took over, he ramped fast so that the 1989 - 1999 decade saw four Bond films. Again, the 2016 - 2026 would have two films, and that's in the best case scenario. Which seems unlikely. More likely, just one Bond film for the past decade.
So yeah, this new Bond will undoubtedly at least match the six year gap and could very well surpass it. And it will mean the fewest Bonds produced in a decade span. But given the change in control and now who is being put in the director's chair, there's now nothing but hope and belief that it will be well worth the wait.
And with Villeneuve in control, and Amazon bought in, you can bet that Bond 26 will be fully and exclusively in theaters and likely shot for IMAX. But will he have the power to nix any other Amazon cross-promotional ideas here? Will he have final popcorn bucket sign-off this time?
One more thing: will Villeneuve set up his Bond movie as a stand-alone or will it be meant to have a sequel and/or sequels? And if it's the latter, would he be the one to do those or would he, say, hand off to a friend? Like, say, his very good friend and noted Bond fan, Christopher Nolan...
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
1 And Tarantino keeps saying he's going to quit soon, but then keeps making movies so... He's also a noted Bond fan and has pitched ideas before so... Might we be entering Bond's Auteur Era?
2 I've long been in the Richard Madden camp. But my general list (beyond Taylor-Johnson, who I think would be great) as given here last year: Theo James, Paul Mescal, Regé-Jean Page, Jack Lowden, Henry Golding, Lucien Laviscount, and Madden...
3 Two recent Bond film stars that he has worked with in the past are both in Dune: Léa Seydoux and Javier Bardem. Dr. Madeleine Swann is still alive...