Just five months after Danny Boyle became attached to direct James Bond 25, the filmmaker has parted ways with the long-awaited sequel.
The news was made official by the 007 Twitter account, where producers Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and producer/star Daniel Craig revealed “creative differences” lead to Danny Boyle’s exit.
Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25. pic.twitter.com/0Thl116eAd
— James Bond (@007) August 21, 2018
What remains unclear at this point is if this will have any impact on the production, which was slated to begin in December, or the November 1, 2019 release date that MGM and Eon Productions had already set.
Variety reports that Boyle had been in the early stages of casting the new “Bond girl” and the villain when the director parted ways.
There is no front-runner yet to replace Boyle, but sources claim the studio will move quickly to find a new director, so production will not be impacted.
Before Boyle had come aboard to direct Bond 25, other filmmakers such as David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water), Yann Demange (White Boy Rick) and Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) were being considered.
It seems unlikely, though, that MGM could go back to these contenders. Villeneuve is prepping his Dune remake at the moment, while Mackenzie has Outlaw King in post-production and a TV series dubbed Gemstone in pre-production and Demange is currently filming the pilot episode of Lovecraft County.
Hopefully we’ll find out soon who will take over as the new director of James Bond 25.