Image: Sony

With its late 2019 release date getting closer and closer, the latest James Bond film is still without a director. However, a new report suggests producers have one name at the top of their list.


It’s Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire; he’s also known for 28 Days Later and Trainspotting. Variety reports he’s “high on the list” of potential directors, but no offer has been made yet.

Last summer, the 25th Bond film was given a release date of November 8, 2019. At that time, it wasn’t even certain if star Daniel Craig would return or who would be handling distribution in the United States. Since then, Craig has been confirmed and Annapurna Pictures will distribute along with MGM. And yet, a director still remains elusive.


Around that same time, several directors were considered to be “frontrunners” for the film but, according to Variety, that changed once Annapurna came on board. Now all eyes are on Boyle, who is developing a film at the moment but has nothing solid on the books. That means he has room in his schedule to do this—and he would be a stellar choice. He’s a kinetic filmmaker who could give the Bond franchise a wholly different energy and look.

But remember, nothing is set yet. We’ll have to wait and see if this story actually pans out or if it’s just the studio’s way of putting pressure on another director by floating the idea that Boyle is in the mix. That kind of thing has happened before and it’ll happen again.

[Variety]