Back in July, Jeff Sneider published a James Bond piece, narrowing the possible directing contenders to just a handful of names. The Telegraph has now seemingly confirmed those names, and added a few more to the list.
The report states that currently “there is no script, no title, not even a director.” No setting has been chosen, no source material selected, from the Ian Fleming novels or elsewhere. However, a number of potential directing contenders have now been summoned to Eon Productions’ London HQ for what is being described as “a first round of speed dates.”
Those pining for Christopher Nolan are out of luck as talks seem to have broken down between the two parties, with Eon looking for “a safe and seasoned pair of hands without the sort of distinctive personal style that would impinge on Bond’s own.”
So, who are the top contenders right now to helm the next Bond?
As suspected, and previously reported, Edward Berger is the current frontrunner to direct, but it’s the other names in contention that are more surprising. Bart Layton (The Imposter) and Yann Demange (’71) are being deemed as “plausible choices,” according to the report.
David Michod is another director being name-dropped as a possibility. Michod is currently editing a “new version” of his upcoming A24 stoner dramedy, “Wizards!, which test screened late last year. We might expect that one to be released in the fall. His other filmmaking credits include “Animal Kingdom,” “The Rover,” and “War Machine.”
Kelly Marcel, who wrote all three of those ‘Venom’ movies, and has actually now graduated to directing the new one (“The Last Dance”), set for release this fall, is another highly touted possibility. Marcel also adapted “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Cruella” and “Saving Mr. Banks.”
One name that nobody had mentioned: Martin Campbell. It would make sense for Campbell to hop onboard the franchise reboot, as he had done with the first Pierce Brosnan (“GoldenEye”) and Daniel Craig (“Casino Royale”) outings. He seems to be Bond boss Barbara Broccoli’s go-to filmmaker to help her in rebooting the franchise every decade.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.