For a movie that hasn’t even entered production (estimated start date: April 6th), Bond 25 is causing quite the stir.
First came the changing of the guard, after director Cary Joji Fukunaga replaced Danny Boyle in the hot seat, whose script idea seemingly clashed with the vision set out by long-time franchise producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. It was enough to push Bond 25 back into 2020, though with filming set to commence at Pinewood Studios early next month, new intel from MI6 HQ suggests Fukunaga and his team have finally settled on a working title – and it’s not ‘Shatterhand.’
Word is Bond 25 is currently being referred to as ‘Eclipse,’ after a recent leak at Mandy.com (a jobs site for actors, crew members and creative professionals) name-dropped ‘Eclipse’ when referring to Daniel Craig’s next outing as 007. The listing has since been removed, so take from that what you will.
On paper, ‘Eclipse’ isn’t necessarily a bad title if that’s what they decide to go with, as at least it doesn’t openly hint at Bond’s demise, or another run-in with Blofeld. Remember, the notorious villain used ‘Shatterhand’ as an alias in Ian Fleming’s novel, You Only Live Twice, and then there was the whole hullabaloo surrounding Christoph Waltz and his Spectre baddie who was, in fact, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, despite rumors to the contrary.
He’s already ruled out a possible return as Fleming’s criminal mastermind, so if Bond 25: Eclipse decides to incorporate Blofeld into its super-secret story, it’ll have to locate a replacement.
Whatever the case, with Cary Joji Fukunaga behind the wheel and Daniel Craig set to give one final 00 performance before hanging up his boots, Bond 25 has our attention – if not our curiosity – as we await its global release on April 8th, 2020.