At one time Jean-Marc Vallee was on the shortlist to direct Bond 25 after Danny Boyle left, and it was a choice that made a lot of sense. The last few years have seen his profile raise dramatically with Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, and HBO’s Big Little Lies, so basically he could write his own ticket from that point on. And rather than take over the reins of 007, Vallee decided to turn his interest to a romantic biopic on the Beatles’ John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono.
Deadline reports Vallee turned down the Bond gig to take on the Lennon/Ono biopic, which is being set up at Universal. Details are slim at this early stage but the script will be written by Anthony McCarten, best known for writing other true-life dramas The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour, and Bohemian Rhapsody. Yoko Ono will be involved as a producer, as well, which could make the eventual press tour pretty interesting.
Ultimately, the Bond 25 gig went to Cary Fukunaga, but what’s to stop Vallee from directing one at a later date?
