James Bond is stepping into a new, uncertain world.
Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who now make announcements with their star, Daniel Craig, have chosen an untested director from TV and indie films.
The new director of “Bond 25” is Cary Joji Fukunaga, known for the indie Oscar nominee “Beasts of No Nation” and the HBO series, “True Detective.” Fukunaga replaces Oscar winner Danny Boyle, with whom the trio could not see eye to eye.
Fukunaga is a daring choice, I guess, in that he’s known more for hype than a long resume. In addition to “True Detective,” he directed 10 episodes each this year of “The Alienist” and “Maniac” two well reviewed off beat series. His features, “Beasts” and “Sin Nombre,” are edgy and intimate, and not traditional action films.
Bond needs a director who will follow the script and answer to producers who are maintaining a legacy. Ironically, Boyle may have been too independent for them. Whether Fukunaga isn’t as well remains to be seen.
At the same, an odd date has been chosen for the untitled film’s release– February 14, 2020, not a Christmas or Memorial Day anchor, and five days after the newly announced 2020 Academy Awards, typically a slow time.
As for Adele coming back to sing the title track– at the rate things are going, that should be on track with the release of her next album considering the snail’s pace of her releases.
