James Bond has been in a holding pattern for a long while now, or even a doom spiral. The jewel in the British Film Industry’s crown - ie the biggest money-maker - has of course been taken over by Amazon Studios, who are now fully in charge after Barbara Broccoli relinquished her stake of 007 earlier this year.
This has cleared the way for Amazon to do as they please, but being the wise entertainment-tech industrial-consumer complex that they are, to plot out the reboot they are going route one: recruit the biggest names in the business.
That means Denis Villeneuve as director, which was confirmed last month. A man who, with the Dune franchise, has proved he could channel his sometimes whimsical arty eccentricities into genuine blockbuster clout.
While Villeneuve is one of the most bankable names in movies, is he a great fit for Bond? Which, for all its iconic status, is hardly a film series with an arty/sci-fi bent. The closest its come to Villeneuve territory is Moonraker, but that was more Muppets in Space than Bladerunner 2049.
Well, it seems the next new big name attached to the Bond reboot has been chosen to help mitigate the high art pretensions of Villeneuve.
Steven Knight is the man, and while he’s hardly a maker of trash, he has populist instincts which you feel might bring things down to earth. While Peaky Blinders at its best, and his Tom Hardy show Taboo, had genuine literary storytelling and poetic tones, they were made for big audiences. And look at his recent big hit BBC show, SAS Rogue Heroes, which definitely managed to deal with difficult issues around war, but mostly was hugely entertaining knockabout fun.
Obviously his Englishness plays a part here too, Knight’s knack for tapping into English history and bringing out these contemporary takes on them - with modern sensibilities and soundtracks - has proved to be a winning formula for audiences.
Which leads us to the question of what kind of James Bond will Villeneuve/Knight deliver?
Given Knight’s previous shows, could this be a retro James Bond? A James Bond put back into the time period where he originated, the 50s and 60s?
It could well work, a period piece which is a little pulpy and allows the somewhat old school Bond values - boozing, brawling, womanising, colonial swagger - to be placed in a different context. You can imagine a SAS Rogue Heroes treatment of Bond, with a totally brazen approach involving violence, exotic locations and a kind of deranged English spirit tearing around the globe. A cosy romp into the past which worked so well for The Fantastic Four: First Steps recently.
On the other hand, Knight isn’t directing. And Villeneuve is a far more sensitive director, attuned to psychology, duty, and intrigue (and giant spiders, but we’re erring on the side of Dune here, not Enemy). He can tackle big themes and if he isn’t given the task of solving the major Bond problem of having a retrogressive character operating in the modern global system (which Daniel Craig nearly managed, only to be undermined by some very mediocre vehicles (only Casino Royale and Skyfall are fit for purpose)), then that will feel like a missed opportunity.
It’s going to be fascinating how the two men work this out.
But then there’s the other question: who’s going to play Bond?
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A lot hinges upon this of course, as the casting will hugely dictate what kind of Bond we will get. And with these two men behind the series, we can start to make more honed predictions about who they will choose. Since it’s highly likely they’ll want a trusted ally to front up this high stakes franchise.
How about Cillian Murphy? Knight’s go-to. People have said he’s too old at 49. He still looks great though, doesn’t he? He could easily do it, if they wrote around his age.
Or on the Villeneuve side, how about Austin Butler? You’d think he’d be more robust for Bond that Timothee Chalamet, and while there’s the obvious drawback of Butler being American, well, Sean Connery was Scottish and he managed the English accent ok (kind of). Yes, Butler would be excellent, with the looks, the intensity, the edge to him...
Whoever it is, this Villeneuve/Knight pairing is an intriguing one. Without Broccolli on board to maintain the values of 007, there’s obvious worries here about it turning into sell-out nonsense, but then Bond was always sell-out nonsense - the branding hit ridiculous levels in Craig’s reign - so simply having two quality minds working on the new Bond, well, what more do you want?
