After successfully rebooting theJames Bond franchisetwice, director Martin Campbell says he’s up to give it a try once again forBond 26. As it stands now, the 25thBondmovie,No Time to Die, is scheduled to be released this fall after multiple delays. It’s also known that the movie will serve as the final adventure for Daniel Craig’s incarnation of the superspy, meaningBond 26will most likely reboot the franchise once again with an all-new actor as Agent 007.
In 1995,Martin Campbellintroduced Pierce Brosnan as the then-new James Bond in the hit movieGoldenEye. Brosnan would go on to play the iconic role in three sequels, culminating with 2002’sDie Another Day. The franchise came calling upon Campbell once again to directCasino Royalefollowing Brosnan’s retirement from the role. Again, now with Craig as a different version of Bond, Campbell successfully relaunched the series with an all-new actor.
Now, we’re at the point where Craig has said he’s definitely done playing James Bond. No actor has yet been named to serve as Craig’s successor inJames Bond 26, although many names are floating around in the rumor mill, from Henry Cavill to Idris Elba. A director hasn’t yet been announced either, but if Campbell were to get the offer, he would be interested in rebootingBondonce again. As he recently said on The Collider Podcast:
“Oh yeah, I would certainly consider it. I enjoy doingBond. And also, the two producers are great to work with. You’re pretty much given a free hand to - everybody obviously participates in the script, andCasinoI had Paul Haggis who did a terrific job with the script. He did the final draft. But the two producers are great to work with, and they don’t interfere at all if they think you’re on the right track, and everything else they just let you get on with it. They support you all the way. It’s an enjoyable experience.”
Campbell’s other credits includeThe Mask of Zorro,The Legend of Zorro,Green Lantern, andThe Foreigner. He is also preparing to release his new movieThe Protégéwhich stars Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, Robert Patrick, and Samuel L. Jackson. Campbell also directed the upcoming action thrillerMemorywith Liam Neeson and Guy Pearce.
Cary Fukunaga directedNo Time to Dieusing a screenplay co-written with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade,and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Along with Daniel Craig in his final performance as James Bond, the movie also stars Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Christoph Waltz, and Jeffrey Wright. In July, Craig reiterated that this will be the end of his run as Bond.
“We started talking about it and I went, ‘There might be a story we need to finish here - something we started inCasino [Royale]. Something to do with Vesper, and Spectre, and something that was connected, in a way.’ It started to formulate. And I thought, ‘Here we go,'” Craig told Total Film. “In terms of closing the story, the circle is complete now. It feels emotionally satisfying.”
No Time to Dieis set for a UK release on Sept. 30followed by a US release on Oct. 8. Campbell’s newest movie,The Protégé, will be released by Lionsgate on Aug. 20. This news comes to us fromCollider.
