Not long ago, we discussed how Bond 23 had been indefinitely postponed due to studio MGM’s ongoing financial crisis. We’ve also talked about how Daniel Craig has gone on the record saying he would do it. So has any of that changed? Here’s producer David G. Wilson’s take on the status.
IGN spoke to David G. Wilson of Eon Productions this morning about the forthcoming Blood Stone and Goldeneye games, but while we had him sat down, we couldn’t resist asking him about the state-of-play on the next Bond movie.
Following the financial crisis at MGM, Bond 23 was put on hold indefinitely, and Wilson reports that little has changed in recent weeks. “We’re in a holding pattern to see what happens with the studio” he explained. “We support them – we’ve had a long relationship for a long time and it’s really important for us to get going again. They just have to sort out their financial issues.”
When pressed for a start date, Wilson revealed “They have a plan going forward, and hopefully everything will go to plan and we hope to be in a position next year to start the film again.”
And as for a script, it seems that the story has gone untouched for a while, with the producer admitting “The script’s been in development for some time. We often start the scripts about a year before pre-production has begun. So the script has been in development but it’s been halted for the time being.”
Finally, Wilson put to bed recent speculation about director Sam Mendes’ participation, adding “Yes, he’s very excited to do this film – and it’s a matter of timing too. He’s a hot director, and there’s a danger he would have to go and work on something else so we have to be patient and optimistic.”
This is not big news, but it’s good news for Bond fans everywhere. We might not get it soon, but it’s moving towards that goal. With Mendes still on as director, and with, hopefully, Craig back on the lead, Bond 23 should be good. It’s just a matter of crossing our fingers, and hope that the movie gods allow this to happen in the slow nearing future.
What do you think of this? Good news? Bad news for you? Mendes directing? What’s your take?
I didn’t mind the story in the last Bond, but the action was all shot to hell by shaky-cam. That’s what blew it for me.
Casino Royale was easily 10 times better.
Someone should just buy MGM already…
MGM really needs to get their S@#$ together.
What it really needs is a good script, because in my opinion the last Bond movie was rubbish. Don’t get me wrong, I like Daniel Craig a lot, but there was just no story in that movie.