The writer says he’s yet to get started on the next James Bond film and confirms the next 007 actor is yet to be chosen.
Steven Knight, the writer tapped to script Bond 26, has confirmed that writing hasn’t started and that the film is moving ahead without an actor in place. Asked by Radio Times whether the script is being written without a new 007 in mind, Knight replied: “Er… yes,” before adding, “You don’t know what’s going to happen until you start writing.”
That uncertainty isn’t entirely new as the scripts have always preceded casting a new James Bond. Casino Royale was written before Daniel Craig signed on, and the same was true for Goldeneye and The Living Daylights. But what’s notable this time is how Knight’s remarks suggest the project is still at its very earliest stage. There’s no outline, no completed draft, and no public timeline. It’s not just that the identity of the next Bond is under wraps — the film’s identity itself is still being discovered.
Still, there are hints. Bond 26 will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, whose work on Dune and Blade Runner 2049 suggests a more meditative and visually striking approach.
Producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman are attached, and Knight — best known for creating Peaky Blinders — brings a track record of writing morally conflicted protagonists in stylised worlds.
Speaking earlier this year to BBC Radio 5 Live, Knight said:
It’s fantastic to be invited to do it. I’m hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that’s the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.
After No Time to Die gave Craig’s Bond a definitive send-off, there’s no need to connect this new film to the previous continuity. That frees Knight to start clean — which, judging by his own words, is exactly what’s happening.
Source: Radio Times
