James Bond 25 replacement director short list revealed

With the unfortunate departure of director Danny Boyle, MGM and EON Productions are on the look out for the next director to helm Bond 25. Deadline reports that a short list of replacement directors has already been assembled and that if a director can be found in the next 2 months, the next Bond film may be able to hit its November 8, 2019 release date.

The list of directors that are rumored to be on MGM’s list contains some very interesting names including: Yann Demange, director of ’71 and White Boy Rick; Hell or High Water and Outlaw King director David Mackenzie; and finally Edgar Wright, who not only has previously said that he would like to direct a Bond film but is a fan favorite director. Deadline notes that the studio approached Jean-Marc Vallee of Dallas Buyers Club, Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects, but scheduling will prevent him from taking the job.

Even though there are great directors on MGM’s list, Bond 25 keeping it’s release date will depend on if the next director will want to keep the new script John Hodge has written for Danny Boyle or if the production will go back to the previous script written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.

EON Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM) recently reached an agreement with Universal Pictures to partner on the worldwide release of the 25th James Bond film. Daniel Craig will return as 007, the legendary British secret agent, but there is no word yet on who will now direct the film.

The 24th James Bond film, Spectre, opened in U.S. theaters on November 16, 2015. The film earned $200 million domestically and $680.6 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $880.7 million.