28 Days Later director Danny Boyle has officially confirmed that he is signed on to direct Bond 25.
According to Metro, Boyle also revealed that the film will begin shooting at the end of 2018.
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Boyle has been speculated to be the producers’ choice for some time now, but he only just confirmed the rumors at a March 14 screening of his new FX series Trust.
“We are working on a script right now. And it all depends on that really. I am working on a Richard Curtis script at the moment. We hope to start shooting that in 6 or 7 weeks,” Boyle said. “Then Bond would be right at the end of the year. But we are working on them both right now.”
In addition to announcing that he is in fact directing the next 007 film, Boyle also revealed that Trainspotting scribe John Hodge is helping with the script.
“We’ve got an idea, John Hodge, the screenwriter, and I have got this idea, and John is writing it at the moment. And it all depends on how it turns out. It would be foolish of me to give any of it away,” Boyle added.
The last two Bond films, Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), were directed by Sam Mendes. While Skyfall is among one of the best reviewed Bond films of all-time, Spectre was not as well-received.
This will be the fourth director that current James Bond star Daniel Craig has worked with on the 007 movies, with Martin Campbell having directed 2006’s Casino Royale, and Marc Foster in the director’s chair for 2008’s Quantum of Solace.
While Boyle has officially secured the spot, many have thrown support behind Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan as someone who would make a great fit for the Bond franchise.
In an interview with Playboy magazine in 2017, the Dark Night Trilogy director was asked if he was “tempted by the prospect” of directing a James Bond film, to which he replied, “A Bond movie, definitely.”
“I’ve spoken to the producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson over the years. I deeply love the character and I’m always excited to see what they do with it,” Nolan added.
He then clarified that there are no concrete plans for him to step in at the moment, explaining, “Maybe one day that would work out. You’d have to be needed, if you know what I mean. It has to need reinvention; it has to need you. And they are getting along well.”
