It seems that none other than Skyfall helmer Sam Mendes is in talks with MGM and Sony Pictures, and they're not discussing a sequel to Mendes' award-winning American Beauty.
Mendes' direction of the last installment of the James Bond film franchise led Skyfall to be more than just the largest grossing of the series about the world's favorite super-suave super-spy. The film was also the eighth largest grossing movie of all time, with an intake of $1.1 billion worldwide.
It's no wonder then that Mendes, who also directed Revolutionary Road (which brought back together Titanic stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) and award-winning war drama Jarhead, will likely be coming back -- courtesy Sony and MGM -- to take on the lead role in bringing to life the next Bond film.
According to an exclusive story by Deadline Hollywood, Mendes will not be the only one returning to the world of Bond, his sultry vixens and dastardly global-threatening villains. Daniel Craig will be returning as Bond himself, with Skyfall scribe John Logan rejoining the team for this latest installment.
Interestingly, Logan -- whose previous works include the screenplays for Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator and Ridley Scott's Gladiator -- originally signed on to write two Bond scripts when he came aboard for Skyfall, with the intention of spreading one long plot over the two films. If this 24th installment of the Bond series does indeed follow through with such a unique plot structure, it would be the first film of the nearly fifty-year-old franchise to do so.
Other directors that have been in the running for helmer of the next Bond film include: Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Bronson) and Christopher Nolan (Inception, the Batman reboot franchise). MGM and Sony felt it was necessary to speak with these other filmmakers due to the fact that Mendes seemed initially reticent about again tackling the Agent 007 world, being that he was focusing on theater work such as the Charlie And The Chocolate Factory musical and a performance of King Lear.
What is only now being called Bond 24 will likely just be delayed a year, thanks to producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli at this point being willing to merely wait on Mendes to complete his theater commitments.
As Ain't It Cool News points out, though it's definitely worth envisioning what it would be like to have a Bond film directed by one of the other stellar helmers on the potentials list, Mendes might be custom-made for the kind of straightforward audience-pleaser Sony and MGM is looking for with this forthcoming installment.
"While it's fun to consider what a guy like Refn would do with a Bond movie, it's important to remember that the producers will want him to paint within the lines, something that might not be much fun for him," AICN says.
Who do you think would make the best director for the next Bond film? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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