ILLUSTRATION BY FREYA BETTS
At the British Film Institute, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, producers of the 007 franchise were honoured and Barbara Broccoli spoke about the future of James Bond and when we can discover the next film.
The release of the 25th James Bond film “Dying Can Wait” was the end of the cycle of Daniel Craig, after five films released between 2006 and 2021: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and then Dying Can Wait. But even more than Craig’s farewell to the role of his life, this last film was an earthquake with the death of the famous secret agent in its final sequence. A shock for its audience, and the end of an era. The disappearance of the secret agent 007 was the final point of a radical transformation of the character, a hero who became more human and finally vulnerable.
After this artistic turn, and the purchase of MGM by Amazon, the 007 franchise is in a reboot phase, where the universe, as well as the character, will be reinvented. What does the future hold for us? This question is on everyone’s lips, and the historical producer Barbara Broccoli spoke at a private event in London, bringing some elements of answer reported by Deadline,
Barbara Broccoli: “We are reinventing who he is and that takes time”
The producer opened up on two points. The first: what about the new interpreter? The second: when will we see a new James Bond movie?
We are in the middle of a reflection and how far to go with the character, we are discussing it. There is no script and we won’t have one until we decide how to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We are reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say it’s two years away from shooting at best.
Two years is a long time, to which you can reasonably add at least two years of production, given the blockbuster calibre of the 007 films. So we’ll have to be patient before we can set eyes on a new James Bond film again.
Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes, who played Miss Moneypenny and M in the franchise, were present at the same event, and the latter humorously said that the producers had “killed Bond”. But it was only to better rebound with an idea that would make sense: “Naomie and I are the right people to fix this. You find him, and we’ll train him.” Could we see this as the recruitment and training of a very young James Bond? An idea to dig…
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