Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond film, Amazon MGM Studios has announced.
The Oscar-nominated Canadian film-maker most recently directed the hugely successful blockbusters Dune and Dune: Part Two, as well as Arrival, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049 and Prisoners.
“Some of my earliest moviegoing memories are connected to 007. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr No with Sean Connery. I’m a diehard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory,” Villeneuve said in a statement on Wednesday.
“I intend to honour 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 honour.”
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Villeneuve is about to start shooting a third Dune film, Dune: Messiah, which is currently scheduled for a 2026 release. He is also attached to direct a historical drama about Cleopatra, an adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s science fiction novel Rendezvous with Rama, and an adaptation of a science fiction short story by South Korean writer Kim Bo-young.
Head of Amazon MGM Studios, Mike Hopkins, said on Wednesday: “We are honoured that Denis has agreed to direct James Bond’s next chapter. He is a cinematic master, whose filmography speaks for itself … James Bond is in the hands of one of today’s greatest filmmakers and we cannot wait to get started on 007’s next adventure.”
Villeneuve’s appointment is part of a wider shake-up of the Bond franchise, after long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson gave creative control to Amazon MGM Studios in a deal reported to have cost about $1 billion (€854 million).
There has been no confirmation of when the next Bond film will be released and the search is still on for who will play the spy after Daniel Craig, whose last Bond outing, No Time to Die, made $774 million worldwide. Actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James and James Norton have all been named as favourites for the role.
However, despite having the back of two former Bonds, Taylor-Johnson appeared to rule himself out of contention last year, telling GQ: “I don’t feel like I need to have a future drawn out for me. I feel like, whatever’s drawn out for me, I can f**king do better.”
In November, Broccoli said the next James Bond actor will be in his 30s and could be of any race, with Associated Press writing: “It will be a man. He’ll likely be in his 30s. Whiteness is not a given.”
The actor will also need to be contracted to at least a decade’s worth of films.
There have reportedly been fierce rows over 007’s future between Wilson and Broccoli, who oversaw the franchise for decades as the children of its original producer, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, and Amazon, with Barbara Broccoli allegedly branding Amazon executives “f**king idiots” over ideas to expand the franchise with spin-offs and a TV series. – Guardian
