Denis Villeneuve Just Made Those James Bond 26 Thanksgiving Rumors a Lot More Interesting
Hollywood has been playing a ridiculous guessing game over who gets to play the next 007, but Denis Villeneuve just dropped an interesting update on James Bond 26.
The director isn't giving away the identity of the next 007, but his latest comments suggest the casting process is moving fast. With rumors pointing to a possible announcement before Thanksgiving, we might finally be getting somewhere.
During a recent interview with GQ, the Dune director was asked whether the next James Bond had already been cast. Villeneuve kept his answer short, but it certainly sounded like things were picking up.
“It’s…In the process, in the process. We’re pushing the gas.”
Naturally, the interviewer tried to squeeze a little more out of him, asking Villeneuve to blink once if Robert Pattinson had landed the role or twice if Callum Turner was the lucky guy. Villeneuve covered his eyes, laughed, and replied: “That’s tough not to blink.”
Well played, Villeneuve. The guy knows how to dodge a question without killing the fun.
The race to become the next James Bond has gotten pretty interesting lately. Josh O'Connor, Jack Lowden, Nicholas Hoult, Turner, and Pattinson have all been connected to recent reports about screen tests, with separate claims suggesting that Turner and O'Connor may have already secured the part.
Of course, none of those casting reports have been officially confirmed, and Hollywood loves turning a casting search into a circus. Still, Villeneuve's comments make those reports about an announcement before Thanksgiving sound a little more believable.
Pattinson and Hoult are particularly interesting names considering their involvement with DC. With the major changes at DC Studios, including James Gunn and Peter Safran stepping down from their leadership roles, both actors could potentially have more flexibility in their schedules.
Whoever lands the role will have some enormous shoes to fill. Daniel Craig played Bond for 15 years, beginning with Casino Royale in 2006 and finishing with No Time to Die in 2021. It's been more than two decades since a new actor was introduced as 007, and the next guy will likely be signing up for a commitment that could stretch across multiple films and well over a decade.
There's also the matter of who's running the franchise now. Amazon's acquisition of MGM gave the company access to a massive collection of Hollywood properties, but James Bond came with complications. Unlike franchises such as Rocky or Carrie, Bond remained under the creative control of EON Productions and longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
That changed when Amazon MGM took creative control of the franchise, ending the Broccoli family's decades-long reign over Bond, which stretched back to the original Dr. No in 1962.
Now, producers Amy Pascal, known for her work on the Spider-Man films, and David Heyman, who helped build the Harry Potter movie franchise, are calling the shots. Both know what it takes to build a successful film series around the right actor, and they're now responsible for helping launch an entirely new era of 007.
Villeneuve is an awesome choice to direct the next Bond movie. The big question is whether Amazon MGM will let him make a great James Bond movie or try to turn 007 into another corporate franchise machine.
Bond doesn't need to become a cinematic universe with six spinoffs and a streaming series about Q's childhood. Just give us a killer spy thriller with a great actor, dangerous villains, and some spectacular action.