Two-time James Bond director Sam Mendes is taking Daniel Craig’s lead and leaving the franchise. Craig permanently left the role behind earlier this year after apparently becoming unhappy in the job. Now, Mendes is following suit and dismissing any chance that he would direct another movie in the series after helming both Skyfall and Spectre. Despite at least one of those two projects being critically acclaimed, Mendes has decided he does not want to try and bounce back from Spectre‘s poor reviews with a third time behind the wheel.
With Loki himself – Tom Hiddleston – the frontrunner to take over the title role from Daniel Craig this is turning into something along the lines of a Doctor Who transition, where a long-time lead and a director/show runner transition out of the series or franchise at the same time. Based on the critical reaction to Spectre, a full turnover of the major players in the series could be just what the doctor ordered. James Bond has been in a dark and introspective place for a while now, and while the ensuing course correct doesn’t need to be a full one-eighty back to the Pierce Brosnan days, there is more room for happiness and a bit of cheekiness in the character than the last few movies have allowed.
Now that Bond has essentially been fully rebooted for modern audiences, a new actor/director pairing can use that foundation to launch a slightly-tweaked version of the character. Whether that happens with Hiddleston in a well-tailored suit, or a more unpredictable choice.
(via AV Club)
