Cary Fukunaga Selected To Direct ‘James Bond 25’
Cary Fukunaga, best known for directing the inaugural season of the HBO hit series True Detective, has been tapped to direct the new James Bond film with Daniel Craig reprising the role for possibly the final time, The Hollywood Reporter stated.
Fukunaga has also directed the Netflix’s Beast of No Nation and streaming series Maniac with Academy Award-winner Emma Stone and Oscar nominee Jonah Hill, per the celebrity publication.
Eon Productions had announced in May that Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle, best known for Slumdog Millionaire and Steve Jobs would direct the film from an original screenplay by Academy Award-nominee John Hodge, with production set for December.
On Thursday, the movie’s official Twitter account released statements about the film and the directing change.
Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig announced today that #Bond25 will begin filming at Pinewood Studios on 4 March 2019 under the helm of director, Cary Joji Fukunaga with a worldwide release date of 14 February 2020. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Oyzt826sXd
— James Bond (@007) September 20, 2018
“We are delighted to be working with Cary. His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure," said Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. (2/2)
— James Bond (@007) September 20, 2018
The Hollywood Reporter wrote Boyle left the 25th James Bond installment in August because of “creative differences” per Eon. The publication said that Yann Demange, David Mackenzie, and Bart Layton had all been mentioned as possible replacements.
Hodge’s script and the actors suggested to be joining the project as Bond’s antagonists had been rumored to be Boyle’s biggest issues, The Hollywood Reporter stated.
Craig’s version of James Bond has proven to be successful globally at the box office. Skyfall in 2012 earned $1.1 billion worldwide while 2015’s Spectre brought in another $880 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Those were big improvements from 2006’s Casino Royale ($599 million) and 2008’s Quantum of Solace ($586 million).
Sam Mendes directed the last two Bond movies, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Universal is on board to distribute the next 007 edition internationally with MGM holding domestic rights in the United States, the publication stated. MGM is producing the movie with Eon.
“Fukunaga seems a very clever pick on two different levels,” wrote The Independent film critic Geoffrey Macnab.
“He has a strong creative reputation – he is an auteur whose latest series Maniac is said to be genre-breaking and mind-bending – but he also knows how to play the game. He can work with big paymasters like HBO and Netflix.”
“It is very unlikely that Fukunaga’s Bond film will contain much of the eyebrow-raising frivolity, fetish for silly gadgets and all those Moneypenny gags that used to run through 007 in the latter days of the Roger Moore era. One characteristic all his work shows is a darkness and an intensity,” he continued.
One interesting tidbit about the directing selection is that Fukunaga directed Idris Elba in Beast of No Nation. Elba created considerable buzz earlier with the Hollywood rumor mill suggesting he could replace Craig, becoming the first black James Bond in the franchise history.
