Was Denis Villeneuve offered Bond 25?
Hollywood Director Denis Villeneuve, who was a frontrunner to direct the upcoming Bond movie, has revealed that he could not commit to the film as he has other projects lined up.
According to reports, the helmer of Blade Runner 2049 (2017) was approached for Bond 25 to replace outgoing director Sam Mendes, known for his films, Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015).
“I said to Barbara [Broccoli], I’d love to work with you and Daniel, but I’m engaged. I’m a spoiled filmmaker. I think Daniel Craig is a fantastic actor. But several months ago Dune came and I engaged myself and I’m someone who doesn’t step back,” Villeneuve said.
The director shared that he always commits to one project at a time. “I remember, I committed to do Enemy, they came with Prisoners. I said, I need to do Enemy first, and I had to break to bend the schedule. I did the same with Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. When I did Blade Runner, one of my conditions was that I would do Arrival first. Once I commit, I commit,” added Villeneuve.
The 50-year-old ultimately chose the upcoming remake of David Lynch’s Dune over Bond, but insists a 007 movie is a ‘fantasy’ of his that he hopes to realise. “When Legendary Pictures offered me Dune, on a silver plate — which was like my dream project that I’m dreaming to do for 30 years — I said yes right away. I want to honour that. And Bond is an old fantasy of mine, but I can’t be in two places at the same time. It’s a strange year because I would love to do a James Bond. I need to focus,” he added. Bond 25 still has no director. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan is now considered to be a frontrunner for helming the project.