A month ago, fans were excited for Bond 25 – with a celebrated director like Danny Boyle at the helm and a script that was apparently smart and contemporary, it looked like Daniel Craig was going to go out on a high. However, Boyle then walked away from the production due to that groan-inducing phrase “creative differences,” leaving the next 007 flick in disarray.
Now, according to The Daily Mail, it seems that the Bond producers have decided to go with a tried-and-tested method of getting the movie back on track. As writer John Hodge left with Boyle, it looks like execs Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have decided to rehire original screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to save Bond 25.
Fans will know that Purvis and Wade go way back with the franchise, having a hand in every Bond since 1999’s The World is Not Enough. Naturally, they were also the first people EON turned to when developing Bond 25, with the pair signing on to pen the script again before Boyle and Hodge boarded.
According to a source the Mail describes as “a Hollywood exec close to the production,” the duo’s “treatment they wrote earlier was already signed off before the bromance with Danny Boyle and John Hodge began.” Now that the aforementioned “bromance” is over, Purvis and Wade are expected to return to the treatment and polish it into a completed script.
Alongside the development of the script, producers are meeting with various filmmakers to find the right one to take over from where Boyle left off. Those we’ve heard about so far include American Animals‘ Bart Layton, White Boy Rick‘s Yann Demange and Star Trek 4‘s S.J. Clarkson, who would be the first female director of the franchise if chosen.
Returning to Purvis and Wade might not be the inspired choice that hiring Boyle was, but you can’t blame EON for wanting to go back to a safe pair of hands in order to make sure Bond 25 runs smoothly from now on. And as soon as we hear of who’ll be sitting behind the camera for this one, we’ll be sure to let you know.