It has been a classic case of 'will he, won't he?' as the speculation
as to whether director Sam
Mendes will helm the next James
Bond film, the 24th in the franchise, flip-flops back and
forth in the trade press and in public statements.
Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have
been open and vocal about their
desire to see Mendes return for
a second shot at 007, especially perhaps after 'Skyfall' was
critically acclaimed, became the first Bond outing to break a
billion dollars, is highest
grossing film in the franchise accounting
for inflation, and is still #8 at the worldwide box-office
of all time. Not to mention all the Blu-Ray and DVD sales.
Although Mendes distanced
himself from the follow-up, speaking
at the BAFTA awards on the topic, and even issuing
a statement in March, it appears that a return for Bond 24
might be back on again. Deadline reports that EON are willing
to wait for the British director to complete his theatre projects
(productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear)
and push back Bond 24 a year. American screenwriter John Logan
is already penning the script.
According to the rumours, Sony Pictures and
MGM have "started talks" for Mendes to helm Daniel Craig's fourth
outing as 007.
and EON. Production would not start until sometime next year,
leading to the possibility that we won't see Bond back in action
until 2015 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, other directors have been touted, perhaps in a push
to get Mendes to commit. Christopher
Nolan has
been in exploratory talks with EON (although this may be Bond
25 timetabling) and yesterday a supposed
shortlist of Ang Lee,
Tom Hooper, Shane Black and Nicolas Winding Refn was 'revealed'
by the trade press. But it begs the question: which director
would want to try and top 'Skyfall's extraordinary success?
Above: The 'Skyfall' team at
the BAFTA awards.
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Bond 24 will see Daniel Craig back as 007 for his fourth and
penultimate film of his current
contract, and the return of the new MI6 team comprising Ralph
Fiennes (M), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) and Ben Whishaw (Q) as
they are all optioned through Bond 25.
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