Veteran 007 writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have circled back around toJames Bond 25The Bond producers are doing what they can to get the follow-up toSpectreback on track in the wake of director Danny Boyle’s departure from the project. Boyle departed over creative differences and now, the search is on for a new filmmaker to tackle what will ultimately be Daniel Craig’s final turn as the iconic MI6 spy. In the meantime, Purvis and Wade will be working on a new script.
Neal PurvisandRobert Wadehave worked on every single movie in the franchise since 1999’sThe World is Not Enough. They were initially brought in to pen a draft of the screenplay while a director search was being held. Once Danny Boyle agreed to come on board, he brought along writer John Hodge (Trainspotting) to work on their own screenplay, which the producers agreed to. Now that Boyle is off the project, the screenwriting duo will flesh out an earlier treatment they wrote into a full screenplay. So, the movie isn’t exactly starting from scratch again, but close to it.
This means that many of the rumors we’ve heard regarding the plot forJames Bond 25hold less credibility now than ever, since a new screenplay is being worked on. While that is taking place, Barbara Broccoli, who is the producer at the top of the food chain when it comes to the franchise, is said to be meeting with possible directors. Several names have come up including Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible - Fallout) and Yann Demange (White Boy Rick), but no decisions have been made.
While Purvis and Wade will flesh out the script on their own, it’s quite likely that whoever is hired to direct will want to put their own spin on it. Sam Mendes, who directed bySkyfallandSpectre, had John Logan come in to do some additional work, for example. All of this makes it seem very unlikely that the original November 2019 release date will stick. We had heard reports previously that Danny Boyle’s exit put the release date in jeopardy and, given how much pre-production work goes into one of these movies, it seems probableJames Bond 25will be delayed to 2020. Since the franchise has made a habit of debuting in the winter, it could be a full five years between installments, asSpectrewas released in 2015.
At the very least, there could be some comfort in knowing a couple of guys with a lot of experience in this world are trying to steer the ship in the right direction. Daniel Craig is, himself, an excellent Bond and deserves to go out with a great entry. It would be very disappointing if this turns out to be anotherQuantum of Solacesituation. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as more details on the project are made available. This news was first reported byThe Daily Mail.
