It goes without saying that ‘Bond 25’ — the tentative name for the upcoming 25th film in the James Bond franchise — has been a production problem from the get-go.
Following the release of Spectre, Daniel Craig — James Bond himself — said that he would rather “slash his wrists” than play James Bond. Seriously, direct quote.
However, Craig eventually came around (being offered $150 million to play Bond two more times might have helped), Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Steve Jobs, Trainspotting) signed on and everything began looking up. But only for so long.
Yesterday, it was announced from the official 007 Twitter account that Boyle had left Bond 25 due to “creative differences”:
Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25. pic.twitter.com/0Thl116eAd
— James Bond (@007) August 21, 2018
A day later, it is being reported that the specific creative difference was the casting of the film’s lead villain.
According to the Telegraph, the split was due to a fall out over whether to cast Tomasz Kot (whomst?) as the lead villain.
via The Telegraph:
Rumours that the film’s script was the source of the disagreement have been reported, with producers alleged to be unhappy with the decision to focus on contemporary political tensions with Russia and a “modern-day Cold War”.
However, one industry source told the Telegraph the split was due to a fall out over whether to cast Tomasz Kot as the lead villain.
Kot, the 41-year-old Polish actor stars in Cold War, a love story set in 1950s Europe, and was described as a “left-field” decision for a Bond enemy.
“Craig has a big say in all the casting decisions. None of the Bond girls have been chosen without his say so,” the source said.
In addition, the Telegraph report also states issues such as Boyle’s insistence on bringing an entirely new writing team “infuriated” Bond producers.
Boyle’s exit is just another bump in the long and winding road to the 25th, and likely very disappointing, Bond film.
