News on NO TIME TO DIE (no spoilers)

If they really had in mind to marry this to Bond I think Modesty Blaise would have been the natural choice. And it can’t - for Eon - be particularly hard to secure the rights to that. Alone.

This article has a lot more information about the source material.

Potential SPOILERS for those who might be interested in this
http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/blake-lively-to-play-an-assassin-in-spy-thriller-the-rhythm-section-258

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That joblo.com-synopsis actually sounds more interesting - but still, EON doing other films, especially another spy film with franchise potential, makes me wonder: do they just try to fill their downtime, do they plan to build up EON into a much bigger production entity or are they just fed up with Bond?

With Theron´s “Atmomic Blonde” starting possibly another female spy franchise (and isn´t Jolie´s SALT also getting another installment?) this project at least is not a trailblazer. And Lively is not a huge box office draw, so it will probably need and get a big push as “the new film by the BOND producers”.

In any event - EON does not appear to actively move on BOND 25, maybe because they do not need it so badly. The revenues from their library will continue to come in, so BB might have concluded: it´s not worth the hassle, let´s concentrate on something else right now.

And after the “Jinx”-debacle BB might always have been eager to have another go at a female spy franchise.

Which is all fine and wonderful. But if EON is not interested so much in BOND anymore they should outsource it. Which nobody would do with their major cash cow, of course.

Impasse indeed.

Of course, SPECTRE´s ending indicated an ending more than any other Bond film. Was this a much clearer sign for a long, long hiatus?

Maybe they’re finally doing what I’ve wanted them to do for a while: sit on the Bond franchise until MGM finally goes belly-up.

One thing is for sure, by producing this rival film they clearly send a signal: it’s not us holding things up…

Edit: the joblo story indeed sounds much more interesting than a simple shoot-em-up with a femme fatale. I may take a look at the book…

I wonder, is there maybe a pattern to be found?

Eon buying into a small, modestly successful series that is perhaps best described as solid. The rights for The Rhythm Section may not have come for small change. But neither can they have been outrageously expensive. And from what I read it would seem there is certainly more material to it than most of the Bourne franchise could offer.

Eon then hiring a modestly popular solid lead actress, a solid tv director and probably suitably solid extra talent, all with potential to adapt the material for the big screen, in so doing expanding the possible audience for this series at least tenfold. There can be no doubt this isn’t playing in the 007 league of blockbusters.

But then, DR NO wasn’t either. It was a B-movie that made the most of its limitations. The Rhythm Section might be a back-to-the-roots move. Eon’s roots…

You´re perfectly right - EON might and has to look into the future, and maybe that future involves a new franchise that can be built up on the side at best or take over main duties when BOND is on ice indefinitely.

Bond will be Daniel. No he won’t. Yes he will.
Bond will be Idris. No he won’t. Yes he will.
Bond will be Charlize. No she won’t. Yes she will.
Bond will be gay. No he won’t. Yes, he will.
Bond will be a blonde-ish red-headed brunette of a mixed-race, mixed-gender alien from planet zubar.

Everyone wants a piece of Bond, one of the last vestiges of a straight, anglo, feminine-loving, macho bad-a$$, bad-guy-killers there evah was.

Can’t all those other folks get their own hero?

And stop picking on my mine.

… OK, let me clarify…

Daniel: If DC comes back or not, I could care less. He ended SPECTRE perfectly in my opinion. Lets move on in the usual EON tradition and start-a-new.

Idris: For me, ALEX CROSS (not Aaron Cross of ill-fated Bourne Legacy non-fame) would have been perfect for him. I love Morgan Freeman, but Idris would still be doing that arc.

Charlize: Looks like she is well on her way to starting her own franchise. Something Angelina Jolie tried with Tomb Raider, SALT, etc.

etc, etc, etc.

I guess it comes down to an icon that others want to bring into their own world, just for the sake of doing so. I’ll make a bet at Ladbrokes that there are still plenty of misogynistic bum-slapping blokes out there that will outnumber those alternate realities for 007. And Dink would probably agree.

Bond will always be the benchmark, that’s why every genre production is compared to Bond, why every spy-themed film with a woman protagonist is labelled ‘female Bond’. But none of the contenders really has the same draw as an icon of pop culture. They don’t actually meddle with Bond, they merely try to establish their own iconography and trademarks. Yet it’s highly unlikely many people will call for a comeback of Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne in 2077 - while its almost a sure bet there will be some story or other about James Bond haunting the hive-mega-fatline-Internet.

As for the female counterparts, I can’t really remember a single memorable character that isn’t mainly a blatant shoot-em-up rip-off with XX chromosomes. That’s not bad as long as the story doesn’t call for an actual human. But a character it does not yet constitute. I have yet to see a ‘Jane Bond’ that does things in her own way, instead of just shoot faster and kick higher.

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Perfectly said.

It´s probably the same with Sherlock Holmes: there will not be a detective character who can erase the memory of Doyle´s creation. At least because Holmes was the first one to have that kind of worldwide recognition.

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And we’re off and running!

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No surprise that P&W are returning. That was in the bag the moment EON rejected John Logan’s initial script for SPECTRE. Now, only question is who is going to play Bond and who will direct this thing.

October is the anniversary of Bond. My guess is we get more details then.

Hopefully they don’t trot the new guy out (if there is one) on a boat while wearing life preservers this time around. :laughing:

A simple press conference will do this time EON.

Very surprising that they announce this now, in the midst of summer.

Even more surprising: why announce it without naming Craig´s return? Or the distributor?

My take: they had to stake a claim in the release schedule because these dates are determined and sought after, about two years prior.

But not saying anything about Craig also means: they don´t know yet or… they do know one thing: Craig will not be back.

If Craig were back they could easily have started production at the end of this year, with a 2018 release. It would even have made sense to announce him now so he could get all the extra press attention for LOGAN LUCKY.

No, 2019 means we will get a new Bond actor. And they have given themselves one extra year to find him.

That’s what I suspect, too. If Craig was on board they would probably say so from the go. He’s either not yet committed or he’s out already.

Everything else was largely expected, P&W, 2019 release. No news on the MGM deal also doesn’t bode well.

I still think Craig will be back, as I would imagine that Barbara Broccoli would back the biggest Brinks truck she possibly could up to his house in order to secure his services, although such a deal wouldn’t be good for the film as a whole.

If not, then that’s fine too. The best films tend to be an actor’s first and second ones in my book anyway, so we should be in for a better film with a new actor, even if I’d rather see Craig get a chance to leave on a better note than the dreadful SPECTRE.

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If Craig leaves it will surely not be for lack of money.

There is this speculation about selling off the franchise after BOND 25. To me that wouldn’t make much sense since it would add enormous pressure - which will be already monstrous - on the film’s performance. And if it doesn’t meet expectations, which is all too easy, just look at SPECTRE, it could mean severely diminished chances to get a top price for the brand. Frankly, I don’t view this as a ‘plan’.

Oh, there really is that kind of speculation? If so, you´re absolutely right: to put that weight on BOND 25´s performance would be foolish. It would however point to a rehiring of Craig at all cost since he is a proven Bond, box office-wise.

I just don´t get why they set the release date of BOND 25 for 2019.

Craig has not lined up any projects that would prohibit him from starting production in early 2018 for a 2018 release.

If he had been secured why would they wait another year?

I hope they do not wait for Sam Mendes again… But I would not be surprised if they actually tried to pull off a Mendes hattrick, with BB pursuing Craig and Adele as rumoured anyway.

But still - 2019…

If I were a betting man I´d say: EON could not secure Craig, had to announce a release date and decided to give themselves one year to find the new Bond.