Last week, a source inside of Amazon/MGM was telling The InSneider that producer David Heyman was being eyed to steer the ship for the next generation of Bond movies.
Today, Puck’s Matt Belloni is reporting that Heyman and Amy Pascal are in talks to develop the next Bond. No contracts have yet been signed and it won’t be finalized until Barbara Broccolli’s $1 billion rights sale to Amazon is made official — there’s apparently tons of paperwork left to be filled up.
Heyman, who championed auteur filmmaking his entire producing career, has three films set for release this year, Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” Taika Waititi’s “Klara and the Sun” and Andrew Patterson’s “Rivals of Amziah King.” As far as film productions go, there’s nothing on tap for Heyman save for next year’s shoot of “Wonka 2.”
Meanwhile Pascal, another stalwart industry vet, developed the recent Tom Holland ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy. She’s also producing Greta Gerwig’s upcoming ‘Narnia’ adaptation. Pascal does have one glaring stain on her producing filmography as she’s responsible for 2016’s all-female reboot of “Ghostbusters.”
Otherwise, much like Heyman, Pascal does seem to champion director-driven projects, her credits include Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game,” Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” and Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers.”
As for the ongoing rumor that Heyman might bring in his go-to director Alfonso Cuarón to helm the next Bond, that remains to be seen. Heyman and Pascal could wait until 2027, which is when Nolan would be available to shoot the next 007 instalment, but it sounds like Amazon wants to fast-track Bond.
Yesterday, The Sun — albeit not the most reliable outlet — had Amazon having already hired unnamed writers for Bond 26, with the aim of releasing the film in 2027.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.