Now that Denis Villeneuve is set to direct the next James Bond movie for Amazon MGM Studios, it’s time to assemble the rest of his team. Steven Knight has been tapped to write the upcoming reboot’s screenplay, and will obviously be key in shaping the future of 007.
Knight is best known for creating the hit crime series Peaky Blinders. I’ve never watched that show, but his feature film screenplays are impressive enough. He’s written such acclaimed scripts as Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things, The Hundred-Foot Journey, Spencer, and Maria. He’s an incredibly versatile writer, capable of penning gritty, street-level thrillers as well as polished dramas. He’s also directed a handful of films including Locke, Hummingbird, most recently Serenity in 2019.
The addition of Knight suggests this Bond could be a bit rougher around the edges. Personally, I’d love to see a reunion of Knight and his Locke star, Tom Hardy, but that’s unlikely. They’ll want to cast someone younger.
“It has always been on my bucket list, and it’s fantastic to be invited to do it — I can’t wait to get started,” Knight told BBC Radio 5. “I’m hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that’s the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.”
Next up, and probably still a long way off, is casting the new 007. Villeneuve is busy directing Dune 3, so it may not happen until that’s off of his plate.
