Everyone wants to be in the Robert Pattinson business these days. Just a few weeks after it was reported that the actor seems to be next in line to play Batman, director Danny Boyle has volunteered Pattinson for another high-profile role: James Bond. In an interview with the Guardian, the director—who was previously set to helm Bond 25 before exiting the upcoming film over creative differences—said the Twilight star would be an excellent candidate for 007. Boyle was struck by this thought while watching Pattinson star in Claire Denis’s latest, High Life.

“It was so bizarre, because I was sitting there thinking, Oh my God, they should get him to be the next Bond,” Boyle said. When the reporter suggested that Pattinson might be a little young for the part, Boyle shrugged that off. “No, no,” he said. “He must be in his 30s. How old was Connery? He’s ready now.”

Pattinson, for the record, is 33. Sean Connery was also in his early 30s when he first played Bond back in 1962, so Boyle is technically right. The average age of most starting Bond actors is 40, meaning that Pattinson does skew a little young—but not outrageously so. Besides, Daniel Craig (who was 38 when he started) is still the current Bond. By the time Bond 25 is done and in theaters and a new Bond is officially cast (that is, unless Craig decides to stay on), a few more years will have passed, allowing Pattinson to age into the role a bit more.

Of course, this is all just a thought experiment from Boyle, who is no longer attached to the Bond movies. The director was initially tapped to direct the next Bond installment, based on a script co-written by John Hodge. However, he and Hodge left the project in August 2018, citing creative differences. Boyle was quickly replaced by True Detective helmer Cary Fukunaga.

In the Guardian interview, Boyle refrained from revealing too much about the departure. “I was with John and they didn’t really like what we were doing, and so it’s far better to part company,” he said. “What we were doing was good. But it was obviously not what they wanted.”

He continued, ceding that, yes, the Bond movies are a producer’s medium rather than a director’s medium. “That’s ultimately what you learn,” Boyle said. “But you’ve got to go into that stuff optimistically. It’s like falling in love. You can’t go in guarded and trying to protect yourself. You have to be open-hearted and prepared to be hurt—and so what if you get a bit of bruising? You get well paid and well looked after. So at the end of the day, these are Champagne problems.”

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