For the love of... we almost got Denis frickin Villeneuve to direct the newest Bond film! But now we don't! Yeah, Denis Villeneuve as in, the same guy who just directed the unbelievable Blade Runner 2049. The masterfully directed one, yes. It was close, but now they gotta find someone else, who most likely is not going to be named Denis Villeneuve.
So, quick background; yes, you are remembering correctly, Daniel Craig was all super pissy a year or so ago, saying how he would never return to the franchise, but he has now changed his mind, most likely when he saw the wheelbarrows of cash they rolled into the room. So Craig is officially back, which is fine by me. The directer of the last two flicks, however, the pretty excellent Skyfall and the pretty weak Spectre,. Sam Mendes, is definitely not returning. I think that's just fine as well; he had an ok run, but lets get someone else in there and see what they can do.
For a while, everyone was hoping it would be Dennis Villeneuve, but he passed on Bond to do something arguably even cooler, which is directing Dune. He spoke a bit on why he can't be in two places at once during an interview with Screen Daily, and why he is choosing Dune over Bond.
“I said to Barbara [The Bond Producer, Barbara Broccoli], I would love to work with you and with Daniel, but I’m engaged. I would love to do it, honestly. I’m a spoiled filmmaker right now. I think Daniel Craig is a fantastic actor and I would like to, but several months ago I came in to do Dune and I engaged myself. I committed myself and I’m someone that doesn’t step back. Once I commit, I commit”.
So, bad news for Bond, good news for an amazing Dune remake. If they can nail Dune, I would gladly trade it for a Bond. There are new 007 movies every couple years. A truly epic Dune is something else entirely.
Bond 25 (placeholder title) is due out Nov. 8, 2019
