French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (right) and his wife, Canadian producer Tanya Lapointe, will work together on the next installment of the James Bond franchise. Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images
Dune director Denis Villeneuve views the world of James Bond as “sacred territory.” Now he’ll have a chance to shape that world: the Quebecois filmmaker is directing the next installment of the venerable spy’s adventures.
“I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery,” Villeneuve said as Amazon MGM announced that he will helm the next 007 movie. “I’m a die-hard Bond fan.”
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It will be the latest prestige property for Villeneuve, who made Blade Runner 2049 before turning to the notoriously complicated stories of Dune.
“The nice thing about him and he kind of proved it really dramatically in the Dune series, is he can do spectacle, but he also does character and emotion,” Steven Jay Rubin, author of The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia. “I mean, those Dune movies would have died on the vine if you didn’t really get behind his lead characters and villains.”
But don’t expect a Bond film any time soon: Villeneuve is working on Dune: Messiah, his third film based on Frank Herbert’s epic series. Dune: Messiah is not expected to hit theaters until December 2026.
Villeneuve, nominated for Academy Awards for Arrival and the Dune films, says he’s excited to tell the next story about the famous British secret agent with a license to kill.
“To me, he’s sacred territory,” Villeneuve said. “I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor.”
As for what direction Villeneuve might take Bond, Graham Rye, editor and publisher of 007 Magazine, says he would love to see the movies draw more directly from Ian Fleming’s novels.
“I think there’s an untapped vein of gold there that really could pay dividends,” Rye says.
By invoking the books, Rye says, the films could show how Bond’s character develops over the series, while trying to stay focused on the job at hand.
“Bond’s a loner,” Rye says. “He knows what he’s been briefed to do. He goes out there and he does it to the best of his ability in any way that he needs to do. And that’s something that is inherent in the character from the very first book.”
There is no word yet on who will succeed actor Daniel Craig to portray Bond in the upcoming film, a casting decision that is a perennial source of speculation.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sparked a guessing game online, asking, “Who’d you pick as the next Bond?” Many replies suggested Henry Cavill, the Superman actor. (Amazon is among NPR’s financial supporters.)
Rye thinks the actor Stuart Martin is perfect for the role. Like the late Sean Connery, he’s tall, handsome, and Scottish.
In British betting houses, other potential Bond actors range from Aaron Taylor-Johnson of 28 Years Later and Kick-Ass to Aaron Pierre of Rebel Ridge and The Underground Railroad. More contenders are listed in recent roundups by British GQ and the gambling firm Ladbrokes.
The selection of Villeneuve to steer the next film, along with his wife Tanya Lapointe as executive producer, is the biggest Bond-related decision yet to emerge from Amazon MGM. The American company took over creative control of the franchise in February from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, representatives of the British American family that stewarded the Bond stories for decades.
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Rubin says he’s a little worried that Amazon might dilute the Bond brand, something he thinks Disney has done with the Star Wars franchise. But he believes Amazon is committed to bringing A-list talent, like Villeneuve, on board for its Bond projects.
“James Bond is a terrific franchise. It’s a 60-year old-franchise, it’s multi-generational,” he says. “Amazon knows they can’t blow it because there’s a lot is riding on this, not just money.”
When news first emerged that Amazon would send Bond on his next mission, it did not sit well with his English fans, who worried that American actors and themes might invade the world created by novelist Ian Fleming, a former British intelligence officer. The Telegraph’s film critic wrote, “Amazon’s Bond takeover is an assault on Britishness.”
Villeneuve will be working with producers Amy Pascal (Challengers; Spider-Man) and David Heyman (Harry Potter; Paddington).
“We are lucky to be in the hands of this extraordinary filmmaker,” the pair said in a statement.
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The U.K.-based James Bond International Fan Club is welcoming Villeneuve’s hiring, saying on its website that the choice “will delight Bond fans the world over.”
“Welcome back, Mr. Bond. We’ve been expecting you,” the group added.
As with any Bond film, Villeneuve’s work will be judged against the catalog of films that came before it, stretching back to the 1960s.
That point was emphasized by a joke one fan told to NPR’s Lauren Frayer, back in February:
“How many Bond fans does it take to change a light bulb?
“One, but 10 to complain about how much better the original was.”
