Danny Boyle No Longer Directing Bond 25 Due To Creative Differences

Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle and Bond 25 have gone their separate ways.

Via Twitter, MGM confirmed today that, due to creative differences with lead star Daniel Craig and the franchise’s producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Boyle will no longer helm the next installment in the popular spy series, with a search for his replacement presumably underway.

As is typical for a story involving the dreaded “creative differences,” further details on the break-up weren’t disclosed at the time of writing, though the fact that Bond 25 was yet to make any major casting announcements – you know, aside from the rumors swirling around Helena Bonham Carter and Kingsman star Mark Strong – left many feeling a little suspicious that Danny Boyle’s blockbuster was beginning to spin its wheels.

And sadly, that appears to have been the case, as MGM announced via Twitter:

Exactly where things go from here remains to be seen, but the fact that Danny Boyle was working on the screenplay alongside John Hodge and Ian Fleming tells us that Bond 25 may be headed back to the drawing board sooner rather than later.

Whatever the outcome, this news is a heavy blow to fans of Boyle’s unique filmmaking. From Trance to Trainspotting, Steve Jobs to 28 Days Later, the director has always pushed the envelope when it comes to visual storytelling, and it’s disappointing to know that his James Bond movie will never come to pass.

Set to mark Daniel Craig’s fifth and final appearance as 007, as things stand, the so-far untitled Bond 25 is scheduled for release on November 8th, 2019, though it remains to be seen whether this latest setback has much of an effect on the film’s ETA.