Christopher Nolan Rules Himself Out Of The Race For Bond 25

There’s bad news for Nolanites today as Christopher Nolan, director of Dunkirk and the venerable Dark Knight Trilogy, has ruled himself out of the race for Bond 25.

Nolan’s love for all things James Bond is no secret, but while appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs series (h/t Digital Spy), the illustrious filmmaker set the record straight: he currently has no plans to helm a Bond film, and believes the franchise is in capable hands thanks to long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson.

Both executives were instrumental in securing Daniel Craig for one last movie – his fifth wielding the license to kill, no less. That’s likely had a knock-on effect on Christopher Nolan’s own desire to direct 007, given he’d rather recruit an entirely new cast in order to pump some fresh blood into one of cinema’s time-honored franchises.

I won’t be the man. No, categorically…I’d love to make a Bond film at some point and I think those producers – Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [Wilson] – they do a tremendous job and Sam Mendes has done a terrific job the last couple of films, so they don’t particularly need me. But I’ve always been inspired by the films and would love to do one someday.

Disappointing though that may be, last summer MGM’s director shortlist was reportedly whittled down to three: Yann Demange, David MacKenzie, and Denis Villeneuve. And though the latter is still riding high following his success on Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve recently distanced himself from the prospect of helming Bond 25 due to his ongoing commitment to Dune over at Legendary.

It’s purportedly a multi-platform project that will bring a new spin to Frank Herbert’s sci-fi tome, though details are currently thin on the ground. Ditto for the next James Bond movie, other than the fact that Daniel Craig is prepped and ready for his swan song.

The so-far untitled Bond 25 will report for duty on November 8th, 2019 – you know, assuming the Powers That Be can find a director to replace Sam Mendes before the year’s end.