It’s a new world out there for James Bond. With Amazon MGM in charge now, and new producers in David Heyman and Amy Pascal, it’s unclear how the estimable super spy will look the next time we see him. An actor still needs to be named, and that hunt has been going on for years. But a director for the next film also needs to be found, and Puck has the shortlist of the final five contenders, with some pretty big names on the list.
The reported nominees to direct Bond 26 are All Quiet On the Western Front and Conclave director Edward Berger, Dune‘s Denis Villeneuve, Scott Pilgrim director Edgar Wright, Westworld‘s Jonathan Nolan, and surprisingly, Paddington director Paul King.
Berger’s name has been on the list for a while, and he’s already had a pitch meeting with producers. Villeneuve has openly expressed interest, but with Dune: Messiah coming up it could be tough for him to add Bond to his busy slate.
Nolan, Wright, and King seem like outsiders, but one of them could be a sneakily brilliant pick. A potential hurdle for Nolan is that he has no feature directing experience, but he’s written with his brother Christopher Nolan on The Prestige, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. King’s forte is wholesome fare such as Paddington and Wonka, so this would be something new for him. I’m kind of curious to see what he’d do with 007, honestly. Wright has the most experience in the action genre with Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and his upcoming remake of The Running Man. We could only hope that he’d cast his Cornetto pals Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the film, too. Pegg as Q would be brilliant.
To my mind, Berger, Villeneuve, and Wright are the most obvious choices. But who knows what the producers and Amazon/MGM are thinking? If it’s important to them that the director be from the UK, then that leaves out Villeneuve, but he’s also got the most experience in the blockbuster field.
Everything is wide open right now. Who would you pick to direct the next James Bond? Perhaps someone not on this list? I’d love to see a woman, maybe Kathryn Bigelow, get a shot.
