Bond 25 Movie Confirms Director, February 2020 Release Date

The next James Bond film has a new director as well as new official release date for the franchise’s 25th installment.

According to Variety, Cary Joji Fukunaga has taken over the picture and will helm it for a Feb. 14, 2020 premiere.

“We are delighted to be working with Cary. His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure,” said bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli in a statement shared to Twitter.

As was previously reported, actor Daniel Craig will return to play the title role for what is expected to be his final outing as Bond.

Fukunaga is a widely acclaimed director who won an Emmy for his work on True Detective season 1, and was nominated for multiple awards for the film Beasts of No Nation. He also contributed to the It (2017) screenplay, and directed the upcoming Netflix series Maniac starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.

Prior to Fukunaga’s involvement, the 25th Bond film was planned to be directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) but he dropped out after creative differences on the direction of the story.

“Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25,” the films producers said in a statement on Aug. 21, 2018.

While there has been no official confirmation, the “creative differences” that led to Boyle exiting the film have been attributed to two possible factors.

The first is that the producers wanted to end the film with Bond dying, and Boyle simply was not on board with that idea. The second possible reason is that he was not a fan of the proposed setting of the film, which is said to be a modern Cold War in Russia.

At this time, Boyle does not appear to have commented on the announcement of his replacement.