Reports that Daniel Craig and Rami Malek are struggling to shoot scenes together for the forthcoming James Bond film mark the latest in a string of setbacks to affect the new movie.
According to The Sun, Malek's other film commitments mean he will now struggle to find time to shoot Bond 25 by the time Craig recovers from an ankle injury he sustained on set.
The report comes just one week after an explosion caused damage to the set and also injured a crew member. The UK’s Health and Safety Executive is making enquiries into the incident.
Bond 25 has been plagued with issues to the point that it has been referred to as a “curse” – stretching back to 2015 when 007 star Craig made a number of statements that appeared to suggest he was done with the role.
Since then, the film has suffered setbacks including director Danny Boyle quitting over reports of "creative differences", which were rumoured to have something to do with Craig and producer Barbara Broccoli wanting to "kill" Bond at the end of the film. There have also been a number of on-set incidents including Craig injuring his ankle in May, which halted filming for two weeks.
Here's a timeline of everything that's gone wrong with Bond 25 (so far).
October 2015:Daniel Craig claims he would rather “slash my wrists” than play Bond again during promo for the latest film, Spectre, and that if he did another film, it would “only be for the money”.
August 2017: After two years of speculation over whether he would reprise the role of Bond, Daniel Craig confirms that he will return as the British spy during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He said it would be his last outing as Bond and that he wanted to “go out on a high note”.
August 2018:Danny Boyle leaves the project over “creative differences” and disputes about the script, leaving the film in chaos and no way to meet the planned release date of autumn 2019. An unconfirmed report in The Sun claims that he quit over Broccoli and Craig's suggestion to kill 007 at the end of the movie, which Boyle allegedly thought was "ridiculous".
September 2018:Cary Fukunaga is announced as Boyle’s replacement.
March 2019: Danny Boyle breaks his silence after leaving the film, commenting: “What John [Hodge] and I were doing, I thought, was really good,” he told Empire. “It wasn’t finished, but it could have been really good.
"We were working very, very well, but they didn’t want to go down that route with us. So we decided to part company, and it would be unfair to say what it was because I don’t know what Cary [Joji Fukunaga] is going to do. I got a very nice message from him and I gave him my best wishes… It is just a great shame.”
April 2019:Launch event in Jamaica is disappointment for fans with the title still unconfirmed. The cast appear decidedly muted, with Craig in particular seeming downcast. Rami Malek is confirmed as the villain via a video message.
April 2019:Phoebe Waller-Bridge is brought on to “liven up” the script after being requested by Daniel Craig, who is a fan of her offbeat writing for Fleabag and Killing Eve. She also pledges to improve the writing for the film's female characters.
5 June 2019: Explosion injures crew member and causes filming to be halted.
10 June 2019: Reports suggest Craig's ankle injury and recovery time means Malek will not be able to film scenes with him, due to other film committments.
