Danny Boyle Is Officially Set to Direct ‘Bond 25’
New team. Same old Bond.
Although he once said he’s rather kill himself than make a fifth James Bond film, it is now officially official: Daniel Craig will return for the still-untitled Bond 25, directed, for the first time, by Danny Boyle, the Academy Award winner behind Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later..., and the Trainspottings.
Here is the tweet announcing the news (these things are legally binding, right?) which notes that the film goes into production at the end of the year, for release in the fall of 2019:
Universal is a new distributor on the Bond series; Sony has been EON Productions’ previous releasing partner for the films. Here’s EON’s official statement:
We are delighted to announce that the exceptionally talented Danny Boyle will be directing Daniel Craig in his fifth outing as James Bond in the 25th instalment of the franchise. We will begin shooting Bond 25 at Pinewood Studios in December with our partners at MGM and are thrilled that Universal will be our international distributor.
The previous two films, Skyfall and Spectre, were directed by Sam Mendes; the last one in particular seemed like a farewell to Craig’s version of the character, who was introduced as a younger and more inexperienced 007 in Casino Royale. There were numerous rumors about potential replacements for him, including Tom Hiddleston, but none of them came to pass. Daniel Craig will return.
As for Boyle, he’s dabbled in many genres, but spy action will be a new one for him. It will surely also be the biggest film (with the biggest budget) he’s ever made. Bond 25 opens on November 8, 2019.