Inception and Tenet director Christopher Nolan has long been a fan-favourite choice to direct a James Bond movie, and it appears the filmmaker is now in serious contention to reboot the franchise following the end of Daniel Craig's tenure as 007.
According to World of Reel, franchise producer Barbara Broccoli has Nolan in her sights. Discussions began prior to the WGA strike and the lengthy Oppenheimer press tour, with both of those obviously slowing things down a little.
While Broccoli and her producing partner Michael G. Wilson tend to be very hands-on with Bond, Nolan is pushing for full creative control in a deal which, unsurprisingly, would also see him pen the movie's screenplay.
Well, make that two screenplays. Apparently, Nolan would sign up to direct two movies, suggesting he has big plans for Bond in what could be a two-parter before the franchise moves on to a new filmmaker (and perhaps a different 007).
If things with Nolan don't pan out, then it appears Danny Boyle, Denis Villeneuve, and Paul Greengrass are all backup possibilities. As for Matthew Vaughn, the site doesn't believe those rumours are correct. Bullet Train star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, meanwhile, remains the rumoured frontrunner to play the new Bond.
Talking earlier this year, Nolan said this about potentially helming a James Bond adventure down the line.
"I love those movies. The influence of those movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. It would be an amazing privilege to do one. At the same time, when you take on a character like that you’re working with particular set of constraints. So it’s a kind of responsibility I also felt very much when taking on Batman.
"You wouldn’t want to take on a film without being fully committed with what you bring."
We'll see what happens, but this certainly sounds promising. While we're taking this story with a pinch of salt, it's easy to imagine Nolan doing something incredibly exciting with the character and putting a new spin on the franchise that separates it from what we saw in the gritty Craig-led efforts.
James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
Do you think Nolan is the right choice to reboot the property? Let us know in the comments section below.