When it comes to film franchises, few have lasted as long as James Bond. But we're now several years removed from 007's last outing . . . and the direction of the next Bond movie is still very much an open question.
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00:00When it comes to film franchises, few have lasted as long as James Bond.
00:04British Secret Service agent 007 has been using gadgets, combat skills,
00:08and smooth talking to save the world for over 60 years. There have been a staggering 25 James
00:14Bond movies released from 1962 to 2021, and in that time, only six actors have ever officially
00:21played the world-renowned super-spy. Fans of all ages have become accustomed to a steady
00:25supply of Bond thrillers, but things have started to change over the past decade.
00:29There was a six-year gap between the last two Daniel Craig films, the longest in the franchise's
00:34history, and ever since No Time to Die closed out Craig's tenure as Bond in 2021, fans have
00:39been dying for news about what's next. We're now several years removed from Bond's last outing,
00:44and there isn't much to report about his future. Even though the ending of No Time to Die promised
00:48that we'll be seeing James Bond again, we still have no idea when that will be or what Bond will
00:53look like when he returns. In fact, judging by what we know about the situation unfolding behind
00:57the scenes, a new James Bond movie may not happen for quite some time.
01:03There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world.
01:08The question of who will be the next 007 has been raised by fans for years,
01:12and there's still no sign that any actor has agreed to fill Bond's bespoke shoes
01:16moving forward. Daniel Craig played Bond for longer than anyone else,
01:20so it's important for the new actor to be able to embody the role. Audiences have their own
01:24opinions about who would make a great Bond, but some fan-casting favorites have already
01:28indicated that they aren't interested in the role. After his name continually came up in
01:32conversations about Bond, Idris Elba eventually told the Associated Press,
01:37"...I'm not going to be that guy."
01:38After some reports got fans excited that Aaron Taylor-Johnson might step into the role,
01:42they were frustrated by the actor repeatedly dodging questions about Bond in interviews.
01:47According to the people responsible for putting the next Bond movie together,
01:50finding an actor for the part is anything but easy. The producers are obviously looking for
01:54someone with excellent acting chops who doesn't mind learning some action choreography, but those
01:59are far from their biggest hurdles. Most importantly, they're looking for a relatively young
02:03performer who's willing to stick around. George Lazenby was the only one-term Bond,
02:07and series producer Barbara Broccoli hopes to keep it that way. She told Variety,
02:12"...When we cast Bond, it's a 10-, 12-year commitment. So he's probably thinking,
02:16do I really want that thing? Not everybody wants to do that."
02:19The next Bond movie might have an easier time enticing an actor to make a decade-long commitment
02:24if it can guarantee them the chance to work with an exciting director. Naturally, there have been
02:28a slew of rumors about who might get behind the camera for the next Bond movie. Christopher Nolan,
02:32a Bond fan himself, has denied rumors that he would step into Helm 007's next story,
02:37despite some fans believing that only Nolan can save the Bond franchise.
02:41Denny Villeneuve has publicly stated that he'd be interested in working on a Bond movie,
02:45but there have been conflicting reports about whether or not his involvement is a serious
02:49possibility. As it stands, no one has a claim on the director's chair, and there's no indication
02:54that there's going to be a director signed onto the project anytime soon. The process of nailing
02:58down a director for the next Bond film is also tied to the general screenwriting process. Right
03:02now, it doesn't seem like there's even an outline for the next movie's plot, much less an actual
03:07screenplay to show to potential directors. Speaking with Variety in September 2022,
03:11Barbara Broccoli indicated that the direction of the next Bond movie was very much still an
03:16open question, saying,
03:17"...it's about a reinvention, and where are we taking it? What do we want to do with the
03:21character? And then, once we figure that out, who's the right person for that particular reinvention?"
03:27"...age is no guarantee of efficiency."
03:28"...and youth is no guarantee of innovation."
03:32There's also another issue to work out — the studios. For a long time,
03:35the James Bond franchise was shared by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and the Broccoli family,
03:40which has maintained control over the Bond character for decades through its Eon Productions
03:44banner. That changed in 2022, when Amazon paid more than $8 billion to acquire MGM.
03:50Now one of the biggest companies in the world is responsible for Bond's future,
03:54but Broccoli reportedly doesn't see eye-to-eye with their film division. When it comes to making
03:58the next Bond movie, Amazon needs Broccoli. She has full control over all the creative decisions
04:03about the property, so even if the company wants to move as fast as possible to capitalize on its
04:08investment, it can't start production without Broccoli's say-so. The Wall Street Journal has
04:12reported that Broccoli is more interested in protecting Bond as a character than making
04:16money — and she doesn't seem to approve of Amazon's vision or goals for the franchise.
04:20In the past, Broccoli has turned down potentially lucrative deals for Bond's TV shows,
04:24video games, and cross-promotions, and now it seems like she's not at all interested
04:28in making a Bond movie just for the sake of making a profit. Until Amazon and Broccoli
04:33can agree on a direction for Bond's future, none of us will see so much as a teaser trailer
04:37for Bond's 26.