The studios behind the James Bond franchise are reportedly eyeing director Danny Boyle for the next film in the series.
Variety reports that the Slumdog Millionaire director is “high on their list” but MGM and Eon Productions have not made any formal offer yet.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The studios had previously considered Boyle for the last two installments in the Bond franchise, 2012’s Skyfall and 2015’s Spectre. Apparently that admiration is mutually shared as Boyle has long-wanted to direct a Bond film and still has “keen interest” in the gig.
Boyle is apparently working on a project with Working Title Films, but that film would presumably be delayed if Boyle tackled a Bond film.
Variety also reports that the studio had also expressed interested in having Yann Demange, the director the of 2014 film ’71, helm the project. However, some behind-the-scenes want to hire a more established name.
The 25th installment has no firm title just yet, but Daniel Craig is slated to return as Bond for the feature.
While there are no concrete details, The Sun previously spoke with a source close to the franchise who revealed the working title is Shatterhand.
“The script is nearly ready for the 25th film, provisionally titled Shatterhand and scheduled to be released in November 2019, so there is no time to waste on getting Daniel locked in,” the source said.
Other sources have alleged the film will feature a blind villain, and is based on the 1995 novel Never Dream Of Dying, which was written by Raymond Benson (Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day, The World is Not Enough).
Never Dream Of Dying‘s plot revolves around a police raid gone after being sabotaged by a terrorist organization. Bond seeks out the culprits, with a femme fatale and a movie production popping up along the way.
That Sun report also claimed that plans for the 26th Bond film are already taking shape.
The source says they’ll be returning to one of Ian Fleming’s original works, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The novel was previously adapted for a 1969 film of the same name starring George Lazenby.
The 25th Bond film is expected in theaters some time in 2019.
