I suspected it was for the sake of international distributors benefit more than anything else, give Universal something more concrete to invest in.
I think so, too. But there must have been real intent to follow through. And it would not have made sense not to use that time to develop a script and search for a director.
Maybe the Villeneuve/Nolan rumors were true. But Villeneuve hesitated and went for DUNE. And Nolan said: Only if I can reboot it.
If Craig/Bond was getting old in Skyfall (2012), heâs going to need a Zimmer for 25.
Perhaps a 50+ 007 will result in a more âinvestigativeâ case (circa 2020) rather than leaping from construction cranes and blasting through plasterboard walls (circa 2006).
That was a weirdly conftontational response to speculationâŚanywayâŚ
Two directors who could definitely do the job without adding their âown voiceâ to the film would be Rachel Talalay and Katherine Bigelow
Impressive
Bigelow seems more interested in films about current issues and events so Iâm not convinced sheâd be interested in jumping aboard a franchise like Bond. Talalay may have done some good work on TV, especially in recent years, but I canât quite bring myself to overlook her early films (Nightmare on Elm Street 6 and Tank Girl) which were both utterly dreadful.
If youâre determined to go with a female director then my choice would be Susanne Bier. Sheâs got an eclectic body of work in her native Denmark and recently did the le CarrĂŠ adaptation The Night Manager for the BBC. She has a film called Bird Box thatâs due out in December and is currently in post-production so would hopefully be available. On top of that she has expressed and interest directing a Bond film.
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I did consider Bier, but I think she goes straight from the film sheâs currently doing to The Night Manager 2, so I ruled her out for the same reason I ruled out my 3 favourite directors (Christopher Nolan, Rian Johnson, Matthew Vaughn), they are off doing their own things that I doubt theyâd be willing to sacrifice for the chance to make a Bond movie.
Iâm going to ignore the internet screaming that insert name wonât be doing it because they donât get along with insert name of someone who works on Bond simply because the level to which that is fiction, reality or even a problem, is entirely between those two people. For the sake of avoiding water cooler gossip, Iâm sticking with actual availability.
Sinking feeling here, with the P&W script draft obviously not a fallback and Boyle´s decision really catching EON by surprise.
What a guy. Heâs really leaving lots of working people hanging and probably out of a job they thought would secure their livelihood for the next couple of months.
So, EON really is in a pickle here.
PANIC!!! 
What about someone comming to the rescue who already worked as a director for EON in the past, whatâs Jonn Glen doing these days?
We all know he can direct a Bondfilm, even a good one (he made 5 Bondmovies, plus was editor and second director) and at EON they know him pretty well and liked him.
I would go for Matthew Vaughn
Big, british and bold!
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I would agree, but Kingsman 3 starts filming the end of January if all goes well.
Pardon me, didnât Owen only yesterday claim the Hodge script was merely based on the P&W one? Now what is it, a reworking of P&Wâs or its own affair?
Mind you, I largely agree with Owenâs conclusions about the current state of affairs and its possible solution. But his former comments do not tally with this current summary.
As for the tone, silly speculation and all that⌠My, Owen is part of the industry and plays the system like everybody else. Of course the speculations are bound to be silly; the bigger the bombshells the sillier the echoes in the media and the net. Nothing unusual and especially not with Bond.
Well, is there a Hodge script at all then - or merely a pitch and rewrite of the P&W material including now Hodgeâs and Boyleâs supposedly strong idea? Would be interesting, especially since Eon announced an original script by Hodge.
It is a valid question: was the Hodge script as a rewrite so drastic that it could be considered an original script? Or was this part of the deal to officially call Hodgeâs script an original?
In any event, Boyleâs decision left EON in a tight spot - and the Bond series as well.
Odds are weâll never know, unless we get a making of book in 40 years time that goes into ludicrous detail.
Right? How can he do that to those people and still call himself a socialist. And how can some fans vilify EON when itâs them who were left in such a pickle? As far as iâm concerned, good riddance to you, Mr. windsock - Boyle.
Whatâs more: Owen says the P&W script was still early stages. And he points out that Hodge didnât work particularly long at his own effort - maybe only a pitch in March and a bit more in May, after which he supposedly worked his own material into P&Wâs.
Now shooting is supposed to begin in December. What if Hodge simply didnât make enough progress by last week to let him go the distance?
By the amount of work since Hodge got on the job one could surely make an educated guess how far of a development might be achieved until the end of the year. If it was obvious there wouldnât be enough of a script to justify the start of principal shooting, or if the quality of the script by then wouldnât be up to scratch, then Eon would have to bring in enforcements, regardless if Hodge considered BOND 25 his gig or not.
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Weâve pretty much already seen a watered-down version of what that would be: SKYFALL. Canât say that I have the slightest interest in seeing what heâd do with the franchise.
Maybe, though, that last thought there would make it all for the best. Good reason to move on and all of that.
Youâre right, he didnât point it out - I read that into the FB post you linked above. Since Owen stated there it was only Hodgeâs elements he worked into the P&W script, not an original script. And since it was only confirmed in May that Hodge would do the script that makes it now just three months of work on the thing, my fault.
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OK, so last May we were confirming Boyle/Hodge.
That was 3, maybe 4 months ago.
Which, if a quick replacement Director/Writer is found, means a 4 month delay.
Thus, a Spring 2020 release.
Hmmm. How many Spring releases are there as opposed to Autumn releases over the past 24?
(Just hoping (and downright praying) for something positive out of all of this.)