Bond 25: Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?

Hang in there, James! We’ll get you a director yet!

There’s an old saying: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Does that apply to Bond 25?

In July 2017, Variety reported that Yann Demange, was the leading contender to direct Bond 25. The story came two days after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions said the next 007 adventure would be released in November 2019.

The twin announcements confirmed that veteran 007 scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were scripting Bond 25.

Then, last month, Variety and Deadline: Hollywood said that Danny Boyle was now in the picture to direct Bond 25. Deadline’s story added the twist that Boyle would only direct if a story being scripted by John Hodge were selected as the blueprint for the 25th Bond adventure made by Eon Productions.

On March 1, The Hollywoord Reporter, the Daily Mail AND Deadine: Hollywood say Boyle’s next project is likely to be a musical. The Daily Mail story specifically says the musical will be based around the songs of The Beatles.

Finally, on March 5, THR comes out with a story that Demange will be executive director of a new HBO series, Lovecraft County, and will direct its first episode.

So, if all of this is true (admittedly a major qualification), it’s certain whether either Demange or Boyle will be available to direct Bond 25.

Could Eon (and MGM) by going for a more high-powered choice (Boyle) have chased off Demange? A situation again proving a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?

Hard to say with certainty. Here’s how THR summed it up in its latest story.

Demange was a contender to direct the next James Bond movie and his boarding may further muddy that search. Demange, along with Denis Villeneuve and David MacKenzie were on the shortlist last year for the high-profile project, which is heading towards a release date of Nov. 8, 2019. The search got murkier in February when Danny Boyle became a contender.

Villeneuve is now focusing on Dune while Boyle is prepping a period music-themed drama. Now it seems that Demange’s time will be spent on Lovecraft Country.

Potentially, it’s a plot twist that even Ian Fleming wouldn’t have predicted.

Yann Demange, would-be Bond 25 director, has new project

Yann Demange, repored last year as a contender to direct Bond 25, has a new project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Demange ” is teaming up with Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams for HBO’s Lovecraft Country,” the entertainment news outlet reported.

“Demange will direct the first episode of the supernatural racial drama and exec produce it as well,” THR said.

Variety reported in July 2017 that Demange was the top contender to direct Bond 25. The Variety story came out two days after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions put out press releases that the next 007 film will come out in the United States in November 2019.

However, last month, Variety and Deadline: Hollywood now said that Danny Boyle was under consideration to direct Bond 25. Deadline’s story said Boyle will direct only if a new story, being scripted by John Hodge, is selected as the way to proceed.

Eon had previously hired veteran 007 film scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to come up with a Bond 25 story. Eon boss Barbara Broccoli, as recently as mid-December, told a THR podcast that Purvis and Wade were working on the Bond 25 script.