Edgar Wright has revealed that he has a few ideas for the direction the Bond franchise should head in, post-Daniel Craig, and that it should be back to a lighter tone – perhaps reminiscent of the Roger Moore era.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast – and reported on GamesRadar – Wright explained that; “”My theory is that the Bonds have got to be like dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and I think you’ve got to alternate.”
This is obviously referring to the fact that the Craig era of Bond was much darker and grittier than some previous incarnations – especially Roger Moore, who played the character from 1973-1985 – when Wright was growing up.
How fans would react to a quipping, cheeky Bond spouting double-entendres after 15 years of serious drama and brutal violence remains to be seen, but it seems unlikely that Barbara Broccoli would go back in that direction.
Wright touched on the fact that he actually has a James Bond pitch ready, were he to be approached about such a thing; “I would certainly think that it would be interesting to try and – I mean, I do have a take, which ever they ask me, I’ll definitely pitch it to them. [Laughs] So I’m not going to say it on the podcast.”
But if he were to be approached, he would be keen to do something that was a departure from the Craig era; “I think Daniel Craig has so made an indelible stamp on that franchise that I think you have to go in a slightly different direction,” and he continued; “But I do think that, when I sometimes see some of the names being bandied around, I can’t quite see it, in terms of to me they feel like Daniel Craig 2.”
Many names have been attached to Bond, with speculation rife about who will take up the mantle from Craig – with stars such as Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy and Dev Patel frequently mentioned, as well as more left-field choices. But it isn’t just actors who are frequently connected to the franchise, directors such as Christopher Nolan get asked about it all the time too. It looks like they will have to take a leaf out of Edgar Wright’s book and have a pitch ready to go!