Bond 25

A James Bond update – sad news that Danny Boyle has dropped out.  I think Bond needs a visual and inventive director like that to ensure that the films don’t get too staid and repetitive.  The fact that he dropped out due to “creative differences” is maybe an ominous sign that the producers don’t want the film to be too “out of the box” – which is a shame.  The fact that this news was announced with Daniel Craig’s name attached also implies that there was probably a fall out between Boyle and Craig.  I’m not sure how I feel about that – the fact that this is probably Craig’s last Bond and that he is being paid an absolute ton of money and that he clearly has a lot of power in the production could turn this film into something of a vanity project.  I’ve read various rumors about the departure – disagreement over casting choices for the film’s Russian villain, or that the “modern-day Cold War” script that Boyle wanted to film was not approved by the producers and Craig.  Instead they wanted to go with a script they already had from Purvis and Wade, who have penned something like 6 previous Bond films, which would probably mean Bond 25 wouldn’t be anything too original.  I’m not going to speculate about possible replacement directors – I think there are some good choices, I think there are some bad choices, so we shall see.  Likewise for who should be the new Bond after Craig.  But instead of trying to rush through the film development to meet the 2019 release date, I’d rather the film get delayed if it means it will be better.