As of now, Sam Mendes will not be directing the next James Bond film. It’s unfortunate, too. Skyfall (Mendes’ entry into the franchise), picked up a whole handful of awards and nominations and received near universal praise. It also made a ton of money and became the seventh highest grossing film of all time. All things considered, I’d say that it was a success, which makes the fact that Mendes isn’t returning all the more disappointing.
Just when all hope was lost, now there appears to be a silver lining as producer Barbara Broccoli revealed in an interview with Getty Entertainment that while the director certainly won’t be back for the next outing, she may be able to bring him back in the future.
“We haven’t given up hope… Maybe not for the next one… but we will get him back again.” “We are working on him,” fellow producer Michael G. Wilson said. “We hope that maybe he will have gotten inspired to come back.”
Mendes himself has said that he’s left the door open to return in the future, so again, we may see another James Bond film helmed by the Oscar-winning director, it just won’t be anytime soon.
There’s no doubt that Skyfall is a great film, and Mendes did a damn fine job with it. It’s a shame that he won’t return but to be honest, I’m excited about the fact that they need to find a new director now. I’m curious to see who they’ll come up with to take over the mantle. It’s always nice to see fresh blood being brought into an already well established franchise and whoever they end up choosing, I have no doubt that the next James Bond film will be just as pleasing as the last. Or at least I hope it is.