Summary
Cinephiles around the globe, rejoice! Following years of speculation and turmoil under Amazon’s watch, theJames Bondfranchise’s next film finally has a new director and boy, it’s a real doozy.
Fans haven’t gotten a new entry in theJames Bondfilm franchise since 2021’sNo Time to Die,and there has been little forward progress in the years since. Given that Daniel Craig’s incarnation of the infamous 007 perished at the end of the film, it’s safe to say he won’t be returning as Bond for another go-around.Craig has seemed somewhat done with the characterfor years now anyway, as he ventures on to do more character acting work in the future, with theKnives Outfilms giving him plenty of scenery to chew on in the meantime. In February of this year, Amazon MGM Studios entered a joint venture withJames Bondproducers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, which givescreative control of the series solely to Amazon MGM. This came after years of strife following Amazon’s takeover of MGM in 2022, with Broccoli and Wilson struggling to work with Amazon to get the series moving again. This deal seems to have worked as intended, because Amazon MGM Studios has officially brought a big-name director on board to helm the nextJames Bondfilm.
Deadlineis reporting that Amazon MGM Studios has “abruptly announced” that Denis Villeneuve is going to be directing the next 007 film.Villeneuve understandably had a lot to say about stepping into the director’s chair for such a massive, storied film franchise.“Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007,“Villeneuve said.“I grew up watchingJames Bondfilms with my father, ever sinceDr. Nowith Sean Connery. I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory.“Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins also threw in his two cents:“We are honored that Denis has agreed to direct James Bond’s next chapter. He is a cinematic master, whose filmography speaks for itself… he has delivered compelling worlds, dynamic visuals, complex characters, and—most importantly—the immersive storytelling that global audiences yearn to experience in theaters.”
DuneDirector Denis Villeneuve Is Set To Helm The NextJames BondFilm From Amazon MGM Studios
To say this is a shocking development would be an understatement. Villeneuve already has his hands full withhis thirdDunefilm, based on the second book in the venerable sci-fi series,Dune Messiah. The Canadian director is also attached to a new film about Cleopatra, an adaptation of the sci-fi novelRendezvous with Rama,a drama entitledI’m waiting for youbased on the short story of the same name, and an adaptation of the non-fiction bookNuclear War: A Scenario. Now, Villeneuve could obviously end up not directing a single one of these projects (although his stepping away from a thirdDunefilm would be a wild turn of events) as seemingly nothing in Hollywood is ever set in stone. One thing is true here, though:Amazon is not messing around withJames Bondanymore.
“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… Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios for their trust.” - Denis Villeneuve
It remains to be seen what Amazon ultimately does with the franchise overall. There has been talk over the past few years that they want to spinJames Bondout intoa connected universe of shows and filmsbased around supporting characters and villains, a la the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s unclear if this is something diehard fans of 007 really want (probably not) or if Amazon is really that serious about giving Moneypenny, Q, and Felix Leiter their own stand-alone stories. What we do know is that Villeneuve is an exciting choice to direct aJamesBondfilm and that IO Interactive’s upcoming video game007 First Lightlooks pretty great.
