Update: July 26, 2017
Denis Villeneuve, Yann Demange, David Mackenzie on the Shortlist for BOND 25 Directors
James Bond has a release date for his next film, and he will soon have a director. It's known for months that Daniel Craig was going to return and finish his run as 007 with the one film commitment he has left on his deal, so that is hardly a surprise.
While there has been published speculation about
Dunkirk‘s Christopher Nolan and
Baby Driver‘s Edgar Wright possibly surfacing as each did the press tour on those hit films, I’m hearing that the three frontrunners to direct the next James Bond movie are Yann Demange, Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie.
Demange directed
’71, an electric 2014 thriller that starred Jack O’Connell as a British soldier left behind the lines in Northern Ireland after dark, who struggles to get safe. He is currently directing
White Boy Rick, with Matthew McConaughey leading the ensemble.
Villeneuve is coming off the Best Picture nominee
Arrival and
Blade Runner 2049, the Alcon sequel which will be released by Warner Bros October 6.
Mackenzie directed Best Picture nominee
Hell or High Water, and he signed on to direct
Outlaw King, the story of Scottish king Robert the Bruce, which most know from Braveheart. These are top of the food chain filmmakers, all.
As for Nolan and Wright, each has shown some exuberance about Bond duty, but the likelier scenario is they would take over the franchise down the line when it is inevitably rebooted and they can start from scratch.
Villeneuve might have a scheduling conflict — he’s making
Dune for Legendary — which might give a slight edge to Demange. The three frontrunners have all had meetings, Deadline is told.
Yann Demange, Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie are on the Shortlist for Bond 25 Directors (Exclusive)