James Bond James Bond 21, is the working title of EON Productions' next James Bond movie. Shooting is scheduled to begin sometime in 2005 at Pinewood Studios for a release date sometime in 2006 to be distrubted by MGM/Sony.
Initially Bond-21 was to begin shooting in January of 2005 for a release in November of that year. MGM has confirmed that due to the inability of EON Productions to secure a director for the film and the absence of an actor to play the role of James Bond, the release of Bond-21 would be delayed to 2006. Other factors in this delay include the recent purchase of MGM by Sony.
Confirmed reports
- It has been confirmed that the plot to Bond 21 has been agreed upon by producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and that the first draft of the script was completed by Neil Purvis and Robert Wade. They also wrote The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
- Henrik Fisker, designer of the latest Aston Martin models has confirmed that the AMV8 Vantage will be Bond's next car.
Confirmed cast & crew
- David Arnold has announced he will be composing the soundtrack to Bond 21. He previously did the soundtracks to Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day.
- Judi Dench announced on a British radio show in late October 2004 that she will be reprising her role as M in Bond-21.
Unconfirmed reports
Plot
- Currently, Bond 21 is rumored to be possibly based (probably lightly) upon Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. The rights to Casino Royale were recently purchased by MGM and it has been suggested that this purchase has made it possible for a serious adaptation of Casino Royale to be considered. The title has been more rumored since Quentin Tarantino at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival began lobbying to make a "proper" film adaptation of Fleming's novel.
- It has been suggested that the script will supposedly take Bond "back to his roots" to a film that should be similar to that of From Russia With Love where the focus of the film is on character and plot rather than high-tech gadgets and visual effects, two issues that were most criticized in Die Another Day.
Cast & crew
- Currently, it is unknown as to who will play the role of James Bond in Bond-21. Pierce Brosnan at one point was still considered to be in the running, but confirmed to several newspapers on October 14, 2004 that "It's absolutely over," and that he considered himself "fired" from the role. In 2004, an endless stream of potential new Bonds were rumored and even announced by some media, though EON Productions has yet to make any announcement. Among the reported front-runners: Hugh Jackman, Clive Owen, James Purefoy, Eric Bana, Jude Law, Gerard Butler, Ewan McGregor and Orlando Bloom among many others.
- In addition to the role of Bond being "up in the air", the director is also at this point, unknown. Rumors have been floating around recently claiming the selection is currently down to two directors. One being, Stephen Frears known best for the comedy High Fidelity. He was also attached to the Jinx spin off movie, which was later cancelled. Other directors such as Vic Armstrong, Rob Bowman, Alfonso Cuaron, Christopher Nolan, Sam Raimi, Gore Verbinski have all been mentioned in the press as possible contenders. Martin Campbell, the director of GoldenEye has also been mentioned as a possible director for Bond-21 as well. The most popular, however, appears to be Quentin Tarantino who has been campaigning for the job since the release of his latest film, Kill Bill.
- Prior to the release of the 2002 Bond film, Die Another Day, it was reported that Michael Madsen had already been signed to reprise the role of Damian Falco, an NSA agent. It remains to be seen whether this will actually occur.
- John Cleese has previously stated in interviews that he will be making a return in the next Bond film as the quartermaster of Q-Branch, however recent rumors have started to suggest that the character might not be in the film afterall. The rumor gained momentum in November 2004, when Cleese stated "I don’t believe there’s a Q in the current version of the script". John Cleese was previously in Die Another Day as Q and The World is Not Enough as the assistant to Q, credited as R.
- Following the release of Die Another Day, it was announced that Kylie Minogue had been either signed or invited (depending upon the media source) to appear in Bond 21 and also to perform the theme song. Whether this will actually happen has yet to be seen. Numerous other singers and actresses have been named as possible co-stars in the next film, including Britney Spears and Keira Knightley, the latter of which was debunked, and many others have expressed interest to be in the film such as French pop singer Alizee. But, like the speculation over the next actor to play Bond, nothing can be considered more than rumor for now.
External links
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