It’s been a bit rough going for the film currently still known as Bond 25, aka the next 007 picture. Last year director Danny Boyle abruptly left the production; he was eventually replaced by True Detective Season 1 auteur Cary Fukunaga. Lately, though, the news has been promising, delightfully outside-the-box. There’s the rumor that Rami Malek, hot off his Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar win, may play the villain. Now there’s talk that Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the brains behind Fleabag and Killing Eve, is doing a script polish, to make it funnier, sharper, and hopefully more Waller-Bridge-esque.
This claim comes from The Guardian, saying Waller-Bridge — in the midst of an extended trip to America, partially to perform her beloved stage version of Fleabag in New York City — met with Daniel Craig. The current James Bond is, like many of us, reportedly a big fan of the writer-performer’s work, including Fleabag, in which she stars, and Killing Eve, in which she doesn’t.
During their meet-up, Craig discussed the Bond 25 script, which is being written by Scott Z. Burns, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade — the latter two Bond movie screenplay vets. According to The Guardian’s source, the actor felt their script needed some “polishing,” and that Waller-Bridge would add “more humour and the offbeat style of writing she is best known for.”
Other Bond 25 news has remained elusive, with little known of the plot, where it will be shot, even whether or not Malek is officially involved. It’s not even clear when it will be released, other than some time next year. That’s plenty of time for Americans to catch up with the second — and almost certainly final — season of Fleabag, which only recently wrapped in the U.K., as well as the second go of Killing Eve, which just began in the States.
And of course, you could always go on Netflix right now and listen to Waller-Bridge steal Solo: A Star Wars Story as the voice of the amusingly deadpan robot who may or not be doing it with Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian. If this news is true, a funny Bond — or even a Bond with any jokes — will be a nice relief after the rather serious Craig years. Just as long as they don’t throw in a double-taking pigeon.
(Via The Guardian)
