About half of the directors that have taken on a James Bond film have helmed more than one of them (with Jon Glen directing the most at 5, if I’m not mistaken), but turns out that is not to be the case for Sam Mendes, at least for the time being. The James Bond publicity folks have released this statement by way of the agent’s Facebook page:
“It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie. Directing SKYFALL was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.”
So it’s back to the theatre for Mendes, leaving Bond 24 rudderless in the wake of its first billion dollar success. That’s a lot of pressure for whoever now follows Mendes. One also has to wonder if this has any correlation with the news that Daniel Craig has fucked off The Monuments Men (probably not).
If you were to ask me (and you did so tacitly by clicking on this article!) I’d say bring in Joel Schumacher. The franchise has reestablished a lot of its traditions, so amidst the return to status quo it might be fun to delve into the homoerotic subtext of Bond. Nobody could do that better than the man behind Batman & Robin.
This choice would come with two bonuses: one is that Schumacher’s camera is more slick than ever (he cuts a mean Fincher for his two House Of Cards episodes) so the film would look great. Additionally, when Shumacher is finished it will finally be time for Christopher Nolan to fulfill the promise and make his Bond film. Full circle, you guys.
We’ll keep you up on the search for a new director, so keep ’em peeled here.