While No Time To Die, the 25th installment of the James Bond franchise has been doing okay domestically, it’s been hitting some excellent numbers overseas. The massive action pic has now crossed the $700 million-dollar mark at the global box office.
According to Box Office Mojo, the final outing for Daniel Craig has already nabbed $708.6 million at the global box office with domestic earnings of $150.4 million and international at an impressive $558.1 million.
It’s currently trailing Skyfall and Spectre’s box office, making it the third most successful Bond movie. Quite an accomplishment given theaters are still trying to make a comeback from the pandemic.
NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Rami Malek (Bohemian Rapsody) as a new villain named Safin (Dr. No?), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Felix Leiter, Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man) as M, Christoph Waltz returning as Spectre’s Blofeld, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel) as Nomi aka the new Agent 007, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049) as Paloma, Ben Whishaw as Q, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah.
The John Wick franchise is expanding beyond the Keanu Reeves installments as Lionsgate is already pushing forward with a prequel series The Continential at Starz. They’re also developing a female-led film set in the same world of assassins and previously have hired action director Len Wiseman, known for projects like Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard, and had been attached to helm a sixth Die Hard for 20th Century Studios before the studio was acquired by Disney.
Ballerina seemingly follows a female assassin from John Wick’s Belarusian syndicate that trains orphaned boys and girls to become killers. Her character will track down the people who killed her parents. This world that assassins inhabit is controlled by The High Table, a group of syndicate leaders from across the globe that rule the underworld with an iron fist. The mythology established in the last three movies suggests a very short but lavished life for these hired killers.
It looks like Lionsgate and Len Wiseman have finally found their lead.
Deadline reports that Cuban actress Ana De Armas (Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out) is now in talks with Lionsgate for the main role after recently stealing scenes in No Time To Die and wrapped on the massive spy flick The Gray Man for the Russo Brothers. It’s certainly a huge get for the production and will likely take the sting away from them recently hiring the very awful Mel Gibson for the television series.
Interestingly enough, some of Ana’s first roles were in the thriller Knock Knock and Exposed opposite Keanu Reeves, who might appear in the pic in a brief cameo. We might even get a nod to Ballerina in John Wick 4, which will debut in theaters next May.
There had been rumblings of the studio looking at younger actresses but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve is doing a heap of press for the upcoming released of Dune and was asked by the Happy Sad Confused Podcast about his continued desire to tackle the next era of James Bond after Daniel Craig steps down with the latest/final installment, No Time To Die.
Admittedly, he hasn’t watched No Time To Die, but would love the challenge of rebooting Bond after Craig’s unmatched/ultimate version of the iconic spy character.
“Franky, the answer would be a massive yes. I would deeply love one day to make a James Bond movie. It’s a character that I’ve been with since my childhood. I have massive affection for Bond. It would be a big challenge to try and reboot it after what Daniel did. What Daniel Craig brought to Bond was so unique and strong and honestly unmatchable. He’s the ultimate James Bond. I can’t wait to see Cary’s movie. I’m very excited. I’m one of the biggest Bond fans.”
While we’ve been getting a lot of sci-fi from Villeneuve with Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune, his other impressive pics such as Prisoners and Sicario would certainly be an excellent resume alone to nab the James Bond gig.
Interestingly enough, Sicario had British actor Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Widows, Black Panther) in a supporting role years before he’d nab an Oscar for his work on Judas & The Black Messiah. Kaluuya would make an excellent Bond candidate as he’s in the right age-range and isn’t leading multiple franchises.
Director Christopher Nolan (Inception, Tenet, Dark Knight Trilogy) has also been vocal multiple times in interviews wanting to tackle a Bond reboot himself, however, we’re still in the dark what EON/MGM are planning to do with Bond 26. Producers have said they won’t even begin thinking about recasting the role until next year (Sorry, nobody has been cast despite what the internet has said), that’s not even guarantee they won’t wait longer given the time between these movies and how long development can take.
Villeneuve’s Dune will hit theaters on October 22.
DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Despite years of tabloid reports/online rumors of various frontrunners and shortlists for a new James Bond actor (to join the yet-to-be-titled Bond 26), franchise producer Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions is pouring cold water, yet again, on the idea they’ve even started looking for someone new to replace Daniel Craig.
While speaking with BBC Radio 4’s Today (via Deadline), the producer revealed they won’t even begin “thinking” about starting the search until 2022.
“We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we’ll start thinking about the future.”
The assumption is that they likely didn’t think Daniel Craig was ultimately retiring, because she also suggested in the interview it took her a while to accept that was happening jokingly stating she was in “denial.” Adding that the Craig was reluctant to even take the part in the beginning.
“He knew it would change his life, which it obviously has. He enabled us to explore the emotional life of Bond, to go deeply into the personal, complexity of the character.”
I don’t think they would have minded another film with Craig, but it certainly sounded like when he accepted to return for No Time To Die, he was serious about it being his final outing as James Bond, something that has been part of the marketing of the film.
It’ll be interesting if they continue the trend of keeping on supporting actors with the new James Bond actor as they’ve previously done with the various incarnations or will take a more drastic hard-reboot approach by replacing everyone.
There had been previous rumblings that co-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (No Time To Die, Fleabag) has already started working on Bond 26, but remains to be seen when they’ll actually get that up and ready for cameras.
Names such as Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Jamie Bell, Rege-Jean Page, Riz Ahmed, Richard Madden, Henry Golding, Aidan Turner, James Norton, Cillian Murphy, Sam Heughan, and Jack Lowden have been previously asked to comment on potentially taking on the role or have been mused/rumored for it (the latter doesn’t seem to be terribly trustworthy).
However, multiple statements from producers would suggest they haven’t even started thinking about actors. Then again, since franchise producers rarely comment on Bond stories it allows tabloids to post fake casting stories without much rebuke.
Fans will just have to be patient.
No Time To Die will release domestically on October 8.
The rest of the cast will include Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) as a new villain named Safin (Dr. No?), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Felix Leiter, Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man) as M, Christoph Waltz returning as Spectre’s Blofeld, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out) as Paloma, Ben Whishaw as Q, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah.
NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Daniel Craig’s era of James Bond is coming to and end, as No Time To Die has been billed as the actor’s final outing as the British spy and led to an emotional viral video of him saying goodbye to cast/crew as they wrapped on the latest installment.
The subject of a female James Bond came up during a chat with Radio Times, as Daniel Craig laments that there should be better parts for actresses that have equal footing with James Bond.
“The answer to that is very simple. There should simply be better parts for women and actors of color. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
Craig also commented on what co-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (said to be writing Bond 26) brought to the film.
“She’s got devilish humor. Her influence permeates a lot of this film. She walked that fantastic line of keeping it as a thriller and being very funny. But Phoebe didn’t come in to change Bond. She came in to spice it up for sure, but she’s a Bond fan – she wasn’t about to take him in a different direction.”
What’s interesting here is that No Time To Die actually features a female 007, Nomi, played by British actress Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel). So, the idea that the franchise even needs a “female version of James Bond” is sort of broken because that character already exists with Nomi, who has literally replaced Bond and took his 007 codename.
No Time To Die releases domestically in U.S./Canada on October 8.
The rest of the cast will include Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) as a new villain named Safin (Dr. No?), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Felix Leiter, Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man) as M, Christoph Waltz returning as Spectre’s Blofeld, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out) as Paloma, Ben Whishaw as Q, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah.
NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Today, it was announced that Amazon is going to purchase MGM Studios for an impressive $8.45 billion, which includes co-ownership of the James Bond franchise alongside EON Productions. However, as mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter, this won’t impact the release of No Time To Die’s October release and might not overturn the franchise’s box office dominance or future theatrical release.
As they point out, the deal likely won’t close and the distribution for No Time To Die will most likely stand as is.
On the theatrical front, it’s unlikely that MGM and United Artists Releasing would change plans for their remaining 2021 theatrical releases — including the James Bond pic No Time to Die — particularly since the deal is likely to take months to close. UAR is a subsidiary of MGM and handles domestic distribution duties for MGM titles (Universal has international on No Time to Die).
They also highlight that EON wouldn’t be terribly keen to pull James Bond from theaters for streaming only as the franchise is best known for a big screen presence and given Amazon won’t have full ownership they’ll have to play nice. Given the amount of money Amazon would be giving up to make Bond a streaming property wouldn’t make a lot of sense from a business standpoint, as it could be just as lucrative to make Prime Video being the streaming home for the franchise.
The Bond franchise has always been a marquee theatrical franchise that’s well known around the globe. And Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, whose U.K. production company EON is 007’s home, are especially keen on the big-screen experience. (EON and MGM share rights via a holding company.)
Daniel Craig is expected to retire from the Bond role, allowing a new unnamed actor to step in for the untitled Bond 26, which is said to be developed by No Time To Die screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
No Time To Die will hit theaters on October 8.
The cast will include Daniel Craig as James Bond, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Rami Malek (Bohemian Rapsody) as a new villain named Safin (Dr. No?), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Felix Leiter, Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man) as M, Christoph Waltz returning as Spectre’s Blofeld, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel) as Nomi aka the new Agent 007, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049) as Paloma, Ben Whishaw as Q, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah.
NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
The Ronin can confirm that stunt coordinator Olivier Schneider will indeed be working on Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector. Olivier is likely best known for his work on the Bond franchise being the supervising stunt coordinator on Daniel Craig’s No Time To Die and the fight coordinator on Spectre. His other credits include Fast & Furious 6, Liam Neeson’s Taken, the French gangster flick A Prophet, Safe House, and The Rhythm Section.
Moon Knight, aka Marc Spector, a mercenary who has numerous alter egos — cabbie Jake Lockley and millionaire playboy Steven Grant — in order to better fight the criminal underworld. But later he was established as being a conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Most recently, the character was a consultant who dresses in all-white and goes by the name Mr. Knight.
Olivier has been hinting to his involvement via Instagram posts and is currently in Budapest preparing for the show.
You’ve likely watched the behind the scenes footage of Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac training for the series, which should give you an idea how action-focused it will be. The directing team consists of Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead with a supporting cast that includes May Calamawy as the female lead and Ethan Hawke reportedly playing the villain. More casting announcements are expected to be made in the coming weeks and months.
Moon Knight will be shooting in both Budapest, Hungary and the United Kingdom under the working title Good Faith, and the 6-episode run is expected to debut on Disney+ in 2022.
Director Cary Fukunaga is going to be following-up his James Bond movie No Time To Die with a WWII series, titled Masters of The Air, for producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks at Apple TV+. As you would expect the project is considered a sequel to previous HBO series Band of Brothers and The Pacific, except this time the series will be exploring the airmen of the war.
The filmmaker has announced on his Instagram account that they’ve completed the first week of filming in London under the working title of Whirlwind with cinematographer Adam Arkapaw. I can confirm they’ve also hired production designer Chris Seagers (Alien: Covenant, X-Men: First Class), who recently worked with Ridley Scott on the TNT/HBO Max series Raised By Wolves.
The series is based on the novel by Donald L. Miller with a cast that consists of Anthony Boyle as Major Crosby, Austin Butler as Major Gale Cleven, Raffery Law as Sgt. Ken Lemmons, Nate Mann as Major Rosie Rosenthal, Callum Turner as Major John Egan, and James Murray as Colonel Chic Harding.
Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes you on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people.Fighting at 25,000 feet in thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller’s Air Force band, which toured US air bases in England. But they had a much greater chance of dying than ground soldiers.Masters of the Air is a story of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with a vivid description of the grisly hunger marches captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.
Cary Fukunaga as mentioned before is coming-off the massive production on Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 in No Time To Die with other credits that includes True Detective, Beasts of No Nation, Maniac, Jane Eyre, and Sin Nombre.
Director Cary Joji Fukunaga has joined the world of massive studio blockbusters with the upcoming James Bond release No Time To Die, the final film of the Daniel Craig era and the studio now looks to find a new actor. The filmmakers seemingly itching to tackle more genre IP as he’s set to direct a feature film adaptation of an Image Comics property.
Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Legendary Entertainment has tapped Fukunaga to tackle a film based on their cyberpunk comic Tokyo Ghost.
Tokyo Ghost is set in 2089 when humanity has become fully addicted to technology as an escape from reality. The story follows peacekeepers Debbie Decay and Led Dent, who are working in the Isles of Los Angeles and are given a job that will take them to the last tech-free country on Earth: the garden nation of Tokyo.
The comic’s writer Rick Remender (Deadly Class, Fear Agent) will be writing the script.
Western cyberpunk films such as The Matrix, RoboCop, Blade Runner/Blade Runner 2049, Upgrade, and Total Recall have had varying levels of success. However, there has been a bit of hiccup with Hollywood attempts to adapt Japanese entries such as the Scarlett Johansson box office flop Ghost In The Shell and Warner Bros. has spent almost twenty years trying to make a movie based on the manga Akira.
Tokyo Ghost being from an western comic book might have an easier time being translated to the big screen. Audiences are also newly aware of the genre thanks to the recent video game Cyberpunk 2077. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle this adaptation visually as the artwork from the comic would be certainly jarring to general film audiences.
Cary is also set to direct episodes of the Apple TV+ series Masters of The Air, the WWII project is produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Considered to be a follow-up to their previous shows Band of Brothers and The Pacific as HBO passed and Apple grabbed it.
A series reboot of the David Bowie sci-fi film The Man Who Fell To Earth finally landed at Showtime after moving from Paramount+ and there is news of another high-profile casting addition. According to Deadline, Oscar-nominee Naomie Harris (Moonlight) is taking the role of Justin Falls opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor, a brilliant engineer and scientist.
Based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name and the iconic film that starred David Bowie, The Man Who Fell to Earth will follow a new alien character (Ejiofor) who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.
Harris isn’t a stranger to genre projects playing Moneypenny in three Daniel Craig era Bond movies and Callisto in Disney’s Pirates of The Caribbean franchise.
Alex Kurtzman is co-writing/co-showrunning and will also direct multiple episodes.
THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH – Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry), Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
THE RONIN 