Matthew Vaughn
Before J.J. Abrams was announced as the director of Star Wars: Episode VII, one name that got a lot of traction in the rumor mill was Matthew Vaughn, the man behind Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class. The logic never made a whole lot of sense to me. Vaugh is a very talented director, but little in his filmography hints at an obvious aptitude for Star Wars.
James Bond, though? It seems as if Vaughn would fit the series like a glove, and not just because large swaths of First Class are direct nods to Bond classics of the 1960s. He is the sort of director who could slip into this series effortlessly, and while I do not know if we would make the flashiest, most memorable film in the franchise, one must remember that the best Bond films are not often the ones helmed by major auteurs. Sometimes, it just takes someone with a keen, intuitive understanding of style, story, and character, traits Vaughn possesses in spades.
I think this choice is actually a reasonably likely one, sometime down the line, given Vaughn’s expressed enthusiasm for the franchise and his previous work with Daniel Craig (Layer Cake has been cited by Bond producers as one of the reasons they cast Craig as 007). I think he would be an excellent choice, and I for one would be very interested to see what he might do with the series.
What do you think of these picks? Would you want to see any of these directors make a James Bond film? Which directors can you think of who would make a great 007 movie? Sound off in the comments and let us know!