Kelly Marcel Doesn't Deny She's in Contention to Direct Next Bond

Back in July, Jeff Sneider published a James Bond piece, narrowing down the directing contenders to just a handful of names. The Telegraph then seemingly confirmed those names, and added a few more to the list.

So, who are they? Bart Layton (The Imposter), Yann Demange (’71), Edward Berger (Conclave), David Michod (Animal Kingdom), and Kelly Marcel (Venom). All of them were deemed as the most “plausible choices,” according to the report. Berger later took his name out of the running in an interview.

The outlier was clearly Marcel, who up to that point, hadn’t directed a feature film, and only been known as a screenwriter. This coming Friday’s “Venom: The Last Dance” is Marcel’s feature directing debut. She’s also written all three ‘Venom’ movies. Her other screenplay credits include “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Cruella” and “Saving Mr. Banks.”

Now, speaking with THR, Marcel subtly tackles the Bond contenders list, and how she may have snuck some 007 hints into the latest ‘Venom’ movie:

Yeah, that’s an extraordinary list to be on. I was flabbergasted. There’s never been a female Bond director, and of course, when you see something like that, it’s just incredibly humbling. So I’m grateful to be mentioned alongside any of those brilliant, brilliant directors.

No denial on her part. Tom Hardy has long been a fan favorite to portray Bond, and Marcel confirms that she tuxed up Hardy in ‘Venom 3’ as a sort of screen test for Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. Can she be any more obvious?

Well, there’s always been these rumors about him playing James Bond, so I may have been showing what Tom Hardy’s James Bond might look like.

A female director has never helmed a Bond movie, and Broccoli hasn’t been shy in the idea of hiring a woman to direct the next instalment. If Broccoli were to go in that direction, then I would hope she’d find a talented filmmaker. Kathryn Bigelow would be the obvious and best choice, then there’s also Patty Jenkins, who recently exited the ‘Wonder Woman’ franchise.

Not too sure about Marcel’s chops to carry this next era of the franchise.