Danny Boyle's Bond 25

Skyfall and Spectre both had an aftermath where it wasn't entirely clear if Daniel Craig was coming back or not. This was partly because of Craig himself - who always seemed to project a strange ambivalence about the part that had made him famous and wealthy. Sam Mendes said after Spectre that Craig was done with the part and the end of Spectre was designed as a farewell scene for him. However, it was reported too though that Mendes had an idea for Bond 25 (with Craig) and did have some vague discussions about returning but these came to nothing in the end. Mendes (as was apparent from Spectre) had reached a creative dead end when it came to Bond. He wanted to go and do something else instead - which turned out to be the World War I drama 1917.

Mendes later seemed to complain that he hadn't had sufficient time to craft Spectre to his satisfaction. He admitted that making two Bond movies had taken its toll and that it had been a difficult experience. "There has always been an element that Bond has been on the wing and a prayer," said Mendes. "It is not a particularly healthy way to work. When I think of them my stomach churns. It’s just so hard. You feel like the England football manager. You think, if I win, I’ll survive. If I lose, I’ll be pilloried. There is no victory. Just survival." Sam Mendes said that the most difficult thing about making a Bond film was that Bond fans all had their own version of James Bond in their head. Whatever you did there would still be someone out there shouting 'stop getting Bond wrong!' like Alan Partridge. This was very true. Bond fans all had their own ideas of what James Bond should be like and what the films should be like. They had their personal preferences and likes and dislikes. You could never please everyone. You simply had to hope you'd pleased MOST of them. The fact that Bond fans were opinionated, knowledgeable, and (occasionally) argumentative was a good sign though. It showed that they still cared.

Now that Sam Mendes was definitely out, the most important position to fill on Bond 25 was the director's chair. Jean-Marc Vallée, David Mackenzie, Denis Villeneuve, Yann Demange, and Edward Berger, were alleged to be on the original shortlist of potential Bond 25 director names. Another named they considered was Cary Fukunaga - who had been in contention to direct (what became) Spectre before Sam Mendes decided to return to make that film. The most offbeat name on the list was the German writer and director Edward Berger. Berger had mostly worked in German television but his work was highly acclaimed and he had directed some films. Berger's Showtime/Sky miniseries Patrick Melrose (with Benedict Cumberbatch) was fairly well received when it arrived in 2018. Berger though does not appear to have been the favoured choice for Bond 25. He was not at the top of the list.

Christopher Nolan had already ruled himself out of directing Bond 25. A Bond film by Christopher Nolan sometimes feels like something that is destined to happen one day but when that will be remains anyone's guess. Bond fans couldn't help noticing his OHMSS riffs in Inception and the great love for The Spy Who Loved Me that Nolan often expresses in interviews. Christopher Nolan said that a childhood experience of watching The Spy Who Loved Me inflamed his passion for the escapist magic of cinema. He loved how big, spectacular and fantastical the film was and he had always tried to recreate that childhood experience of watching The Spy Who Loved Me in his own films. Associate producer Gregg Wilson (the son of Michael) has said they (EON) would love to have Christopher Nolan direct a Bond film one day.

Nolan is not everyone's cup of tea (some people find his films cold and humourless - not to mention confusing) but he is technically brilliant, very good at casting (who else would have championed Heath Ledger for the part of the Joker?), and clearly an inventive and ambitious director. "I’ve spoken to the producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson over the years," Nolan said in 2017. "I deeply love the character, and I’m always excited to see what they do with it. Maybe one day that would work out. You’d have to be needed, if you know what I mean. It has to need reinvention, it has to need you. And they’re getting along very well [without me]." Nolan's comments suggested he was more interested in a reboot of the franchise than the tail end of an era.

The Danish film director Susanne Bier, director of television miniseries The Night Manager, was another named linked to Bond 25 by the media. This could well have been where some of the fuel for those Tom Hiddleston as Bond rumours sprang from. Bier would have become the first woman to direct a Bond film had she been chosen. In a 2016 interview, Bier said "I would probably cut off my ear to do James Bond." Guy Ritchie, according to the Daily Mirror, was another director that EON sounded out about directing Bond 25. Ritchie, after making his name in the (rather tiresome) British comedy gangster genre, had seen his directing career fall off a cliff when Swept Away and Revolver were massive critical flops. He had managed to rehabilitate himself somewhat though with Sherlock Holmes and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It's hard to imagine that Ritchie was ever top the pile for Bond 25. There were clearly much better directors than him out there who would be happy to have a stab at directing a James Bond film.

A fairly popular suggestion on James Bond forums was that Martin Campbell, who twice successfully relaunched the Bond series in the past with GoldenEye and Casino Royale, should come back to finish off the Craig era. Asked if he might be tempted to come back, Campbell (rather vaguely) answered - "I don’t know. I might be, so never say never. I didn’t after Goldeneye. I don’t know if it was sort of arrogance or whatever I don’t know. I just sort of said no to it. I was pretty much offered every one after that. But I just felt that I was repeating it. Another control room to blow up; another nutcase taking over the world. Also there is something refreshing about starting a new Bond, and particularly with Pierce [Brosnan]. It was sort of a Cold War sort of situation then, and we had Judi Dench for the first time. So there was a kind of excitement to doing it. Casino Royale was the same thing. Much the same reasons, actually."

Martin Campbell was in his late seventies by now and seemed to be directing a number of television movies. After Casino Royale, he directed the 2011 superhero film Green Lantern but it was famously a huge critical and commercial bomb and probably put paid to Campbell getting any big mainstream Hollywood films again. Campbell later directed The Foreigner - a 2017 thriller with Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan. The Foreigner got some decent reviews and suggested that Campbell wasn't quite ready to be completely written off yet. Martin Campbell knew as much as anyone when it came to making a James Bond film. He would have been a safe pair of hands for Bond 25 but maybe EON felt it was time to move on and look for directors who would bring something completely new to the franchise. Campbell represented the past rather than the future.

Paul McGuigan, who had worked with Barbara Broccoli on Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool and is best known for directing some of the best episodes of the Sherlock TV show with Benedict Cumberbatch, was another name alleged to be on a list of Bond 25 director candidates. The factor that probably went against McGuigan was that he hadn't proved he had what it takes to make a big budget film. The biggest films McGuigan has directed, like Victor Frankenstein and Push, were critical and financial disasters. The chances of Paul McGuigan getting the director's chair on Bond 25 always seemed slim despite his name frequently cropping up in speculation.

David Mackenzie was actually reported to be the favourite to direct Bond 25 at one point but this speculation proved premature. He is known for films like Hell or High Water and Outlaw King. "I met with Barbara a couple of times," said Mackenzie in 2018. "I really like Barbara, and I know [Bond writers] Neal Purvis and Rob Wade well. I’m from a military family. There are various things that could have connected me to that thing, but then I got busy and that’s the last I heard. I haven’t had any further engagement."

One person who wasn't considered for Bond 25 was Matthew Vaughn. Vaughn always claimed that he was supposed to direct Casino Royale until Martin Campbell came along but EON have never commented on this. "I had a lot of meetings on Casino Royale," said Vaughn. "So much so that the head of MGM offered me it. I had a 24-hour period where I thought I was directing Casino Royale." Matthew Vaughn's films were flashy and entertaining. They were cheeky and full of energy. He was capable of toning down his style though. If Matthew Vaughn directed a Bond you'd imagine it would be more in the vein of X-Men: First Class than Kick Ass - or even Kingsman for that matter. It was all academic anyway. Matthew Vaughn just didn't seem to be EON's cup of tea. Maybe he'd somehow blotted his copybook with the Casino Royale affair.

One person EON would liked to have considered for Bond 25 was the Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. EON had wanted Nicolas Winding Refn to direct Bond 24 when it appeared Sam Mendes might not come back but the Danish director had declined the offer and made it clear he wasn't interested. This obviously ruled Nicolas Winding Refn out of Bond 25. Another director who was considered for Bond 24 (Spectre) was Tom Hooper - who is best known for directing The King's Speech. Hooper said he would love to direct a Bond film one day. However, Tom Hopper does not appear to have been a serious candidate for Bond 25. Hooper later directed the mega bomb Cats so his stock has plunged of late.

David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films, was another name in the Bond 24 mix who didn't seem to be considered for Bond 25. Yates was busy on the Fantastic Beasts movies anyway and maybe not the most exciting candidate to direct a Bond film. Hiring someone like David Yates would have been a safe rather than bold selection. Other directors alleged to have met with EON to discuss the possibility of directing Bond 25 were Colin Trevorrow and Joe Wright. Neither of these were confirmed though.

The person that EON really wanted was the talented Denis Villeneuve - the director of films such as Sicario, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049. Villeneuve would have been a tremendous coup for Bond. His films are stylish and compelling. However, although he claimed to be interested, he simply didn't have the time to make Bond 25 because he was too engaged on his adaptation of the sci-fi novel Dune. "I said to Barbara [Broccoli], I would love to work with you and with Daniel, but I’m engaged [Laughs]. I will love to do it, honestly. I’m a spoiled filmmaker right now. I think Daniel Craig is a fantastic actor and I would like to, but several months ago I came into do Dune and I engaged myself. I committed myself and I’m someone that doesn’t step back."

In the end it was Danny Boyle who was eventually signed to direct Bond 25. Boyle confirmed his participation in March 2018. That same month he was also confirmed to direct the film Yesterday - which would obviously have to be completed before he could direct Bond 25. Bond regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade had written the first tentative Bond 25 script until Danny Boyle and his screenwriting partner John Hodge made their pitch. The Purvis and Wade script was jettisoned in favour of the new script that Boyle and Hodge were developing. Boyle is not a writer but he works closely with Hodge and feels that Hodge's scripts also reflect his own personality and style.

Danny Boyle is someone who likes to put his personal stamp on a film and make sure that his own vision strongly comes through all the different elements and creative contributions. This was, in hindsight, a red flag when it came to the nuts and bolts of Danny Boyle doing a Bond film. Cynics would argue that a big mainstream brand like Bond is film production by committee and that a free spirit like Danny Boyle would find it very difficult to impose himself in such a constrictive environment. While it is open to question whether or not this is a fair reflection of how EON work, the Danny Boyle Bond 25 saga does tend to suggest that there is a limit to how much creative freedom a director and writer coming into the Bond franchise can be expected to enjoy.

Boyle had apparently been under consideration to direct both Skyfall and Spectre so his selection was far from a spur of the moment decision. EON had always liked the idea of Danny Boyle directing a Bond film and now they had finally got their man. Back in 2013 though, Boyle had been asked about directing a Bond film in the future and poured cold water on the idea by suggesting that the huge budget and scale of a Bond film would stifle creativity and not really suit his style. One thing was certain. Bond 25 would not come in over budget and late if Danny Boyle was in charge. He'd deliver the film at breakneck pace and probably have some money left when it was all over. There was even speculation that this was part of the reason why Boyle had been hired. To keep the costs down.

The story of Danny Boyle's involvement in Bond 25 is a strange tale but probably not a surprising one. Boyle is an atypical sort of director in that he is famous but tends to avoid big budget mainstream films like the plague. Boyle is still best known for Trainspotting and 28 Days Later - two lo-fi inventive British films. Boyle's films are known for their energy and indie DNA. It seems that the less money you give Danny Boyle the better the film will be. Boyle won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire (which, in classic Oscar winning tradition, has already been forgotten by most of the people who watched it) and was the artistic director at the London Olympics - where he worked with Daniel Craig for that skit where Bond meets the Queen. Boyle's previous involvement with big budget films was brief and rocky. His adaptation of Alex Garland's gripping backpacker novel The Beach was a complete disaster. The film version of The Beach is tedious to the point of being almost unwatchable.

Off the back of his early success with Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, Danny Boyle was signed to direct Alien 4 (Alien Resurrection) in the late 1990s but, upon realising that he knew absolutely nothing about special effects and this new fangled thing called CGI, decided to make a swift exit. "I didn't know what I was doing, and I wouldn't have known how to handle all the special effects that would have been a huge part of it. So I backed out of it," said Boyle. "I was terrified of the special effects." Boyle said that his experience with Alien Resurrection put him off franchises for life. Until Bond 25 at least. Danny Boyle was then a slightly unexpected, even offbeat choice for Bond. There was no doubt that Boyle was talented enough to direct a Bond film it was just a surprise that he had agreed to do so. Making a James Bond film just didn't feel like a very Danny Boyle thing to do.

This though was what made a Danny Boyle James Bond film a more exciting and intriguing prospect than another Sam Mendes Bond film. Even Sam Mendes wasn't excited by the prospect of another Sam Mendes Bond film. Boyle's Bond film would have more of a curiosity factor. We wouldn't quite know what to expect. Danny Boyle had an unpredictability that other directors of his standing often lack. Boyle is capable of switching between different genres (he has done dramas, fables, a road movie romcom, even a zombie film) and approaching a subject from a strange angle. It was anticipated that his Bond film would have some striking images and maybe some lo-fi street level action (which would have been very Jason Bourne). Danny Boyle was also good with casting and spotting new talent. He gave early roles in films to (at the time) unknown actors like Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris and Cillian Murphy.

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson issued a gushing press release announcing that Boyle had signed to direct Bond 25. 'We are delighted to announce that the exceptionally talented Danny Boyle will be directing Daniel Craig in his fifth outing as James Bond in the 25th instalment of the franchise. We will begin shooting Bond 25 at Pinewood Studios in December with our partners at MGM and thrilled that Universal Pictures will be our international distributor.' MGM’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Kevin Ulrich, also issued a statement. 'Under the leadership of Michael and Barbara, we couldn’t be more thrilled than to bring the next 007 adventure to the big screen uniting the incomparable Daniel Craig with the extraordinary vision of Danny Boyle.'

Chairman of Universal Pictures Donna Langley was not to be outdone and also released a statement. 'Universal is extremely proud to collaborate with Michael, Barbara and MGM on the international marketing and distribution of Bond 25. The unparalleled combination of Danny’s innovative filmmaking and Daniel’s embodiment of 007 ensured we simply had to be partners in the next chapter of this iconic series.' All was well on HMS Bond 25 then. Everyone seemed to be thrilled and excited by the signing of Danny Boyle. The ship was steady and the course was charted. What could possibly go wrong?

Daniel Craig, who seemed to exert a creative control over the franchise that his predecessor Pierce Brosnan could only dream of (a frustrated Brosnan couldn't even persuade the producers to hire Monica Belluci rather than Teri Hatcher for Tomorrow Never Dies), was clearly on the Danny Boyle bandwagon too. Boyle would not have been hired if Daniel Craig didn't want him. Craig was said to have the final say on Bond Girls, the music artist for the theme song, and - of course - the director. Danny Boyle was someone that Craig respected and trusted. Boyle's CV indicated that he was a fairly safe pair of hands to steer Bond 25 but 'edgy' enough too to bring some fresh ideas and his own style to the table. The more that you thought about it the more the selection of Danny Boyle made sense.

Not everyone thought that Danny Boyle was the best choice to direct Bond 25 though. Some felt that his 'livewire' style and hyperactive visual gimmickry might be distracting. There is no way though of knowing how Boyle would have approached the film or what a Danny Boyle Bond film would have been like. This was what made him an interesting choice. Boyle's films also had a fondness for unexpected narratives within the story. You might think you were getting one type of film but then have the rug swept out from under you. Shallow Grave and Sunshine both took surprising turns late on (which were a strength in the former and a weakness in the latter). Boyle and Hodge could be expected to conjure a few twists and surprises for Bond too. These surprises, when revealed, were clearly not to the taste of their new employers at EON.

Danny Boyle's Bond film was slated for a late 2019 release. Production was set to start in December 2018. The film is believed to have got as far as set construction (a Russian gulag set and a gigantic rocket were apparently under construction for Boyle's Bond film when the plug was pulled) when the news dropped in August 2018 that Boyle and John Hodge had left the project and the producers were looking for a new director and a new script. This was the film industry version of a big football club trying to sign a new striker on transfer deadline day. It wasn't good at all. Bond 25 was almost certainly going to be delayed by several months now. Danny Boyle's time on Bond 25 lasted about six months in total. Boyle's version of Bond 25 is now like Edgar Wright's Ant-Man or Tim Burton's Superman Lives. A film that only exists in an alternate reality.

Danny Boyle's departure from Bond 25 was due to what is commonly known in the film industry as creative differences. EON simply didn't like the look of the script that John Hodge was working on - despite the fact that they had hired Boyle and Hodge after the premise of this (apparently estranging) script had been pitched to them. The friction came when the producers decided to order a complete rewrite of the script that John Hodge and Boyle were developing. That meant new writers (Purvis & Wade were almost certainly going to get a phone call) and John Hodge getting the elbow. Danny Boyle, who is not used to being micro-managed by finicky film producers, was not happy at all to learn that EON now didn't want to use the script that John Hodge was writing. Boyle decided to bail out while he still could and go and do something else instead. It was Alien Resurrection all over again.

As a result of Danny Boyle's departure, the film was pushed back to February 2020. EON couldn't possibly know this at the time but the delay would be an absolute disaster and cost them a golden chance to have a lucrative cinema run and then release Bond 25 to VOD and streaming at a time when most of the planet's inhabitants were confined to their homes eating cornflakes in their underpants and desperate for something new to watch. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the bean counters at MGM and the Bond producers must dearly wish now that Bond 25 had managed to slip in under the wire (so to speak) and make that original late 2019 release date.

It was widely reported in the media that Boyle left Bond 25 because the producers rejected his offbeat choice of Polish actor Tomasz Kot as the villain. It was also reported that Boyle had fallen out with Daniel Craig. Boyle later denied that any of this was the case and said his departure was purely because the producers wanted a new script. "I work in partnership with writers and I am not prepared to break it up. We were working very, very well, but they didn’t want to go down that route with us. So we decided to part company. What John Hodge and I were doing, I thought, was really good. It wasn’t finished, but it could have been really good. You have to believe in your process and part of that is the partnership I have with a writer." It seems plausible that what EON wanted to do was remove John Hodge but keep Danny Boyle. This obviously proved to be impossible because of the loyalty Boyle had to Hodge. Boyle was understandably unwilling to merely be a 'gun for hire' and direct a new screenplay hastily cobbled together by a committee or Purvis & Wade.

It was also reported in the media that one of the reasons Boyle left Bond 25 was because he wanted to kill Bond off at the end (presumably like Wolverine heroically dies at the end of Logan). This story has never been verified by anyone though. The Sun twisted this story on its head and said it WAS Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig who had wanted Bond to die at the end of Bond 25 but Boyle thought this was a stupid idea. Tomasz Kot, the actor alleged to have created a dispute between Boyle and the producers, later confirmed that he had done a few audition scenes with Boyle for the part of the villain. He said though that this was the extent of his involvement with Bond 25 and he hadn't the faintest idea if his casting had ever been approved or indeed created any debate or friction. Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani was also linked to Boyle's film in the media.

Just to further confuse everyone, the French-American actor Said Taghmaoui claimed in the media that he had been cast by Danny Boyle as a villain in Bond 25 but with Boyle's departure now had no idea what was going on. "I was cast by Danny Boyle, and just now he left the project, so of course there’s some uncertainty. We don’t know who the director will be, and the producers don’t know if they’re going to go Russian or Middle East with the baddie right now. I literally just received a message saying: ‘If they go Middle East, it’s you. If they go Russian, it’s someone else.’ It’s the story of my life. Always on that line between something that could change my life and something that disappears." Said Taghmaoui later said though that this was all 'fake news' and that he had been misquoted.

What would Danny Boyle's Bond film have been like? What was it going to be about? Leaked call sheets suggested that Boyle's proposed Bond film had a Russian villain and a Russian leading lady. Boyle was also looking for a Maori actor who had combat skills to play a pivotal role in the film - possibly a henchman (though never confirmed - it might have been a friend of Bond for all we know). The script that John Hodge was writing for Boyle apparently had Bond incarcerated by the villain for a lengthy time. This was clearly something else that EON didn't like much. That sounds bold but it wasn't unprecedented. Bond is a 'guest' of Blofeld for a big chunk of OHMSS. Bond is also a prisoner in Die Another Day and Octopussy.

Other reports suggested that Boyle planned to shoot part of his Bond film in Canada because he needed some frozen wilderness locations. Some ice bound locations ended up in the version of Bond 25 that went before the cameras months later (EON now owned John Hodge's Bond screenplay and were free to use parts of it should they choose - maybe they picked up a few ideas even if they didn't want to use the actual story). Boyle's Bond film was said to have plans to shoot at Centre Point - a 34 storey building in London. A sequence where a helicopter lands on the roof of Centre Point was apparently planned. Russian actor and former mixed-martial artist Oleg Taktarov (who has appeared in films like Predators) was alleged to have tested for an unspecified part in Boyle's Bond film. The Times reported that Danny Boyle had sent location scouts to Namibia before he left the production. Some scenes shot in Africa were apparently under consideration.

Danny Boyle was widely reported to have been casting for a female villain in his version of Bond 25. Angelina Jolie was mentioned as someone he had supposedly met with and liked for this part. However, it was later reported that a bone of contention between Boyle and EON was that he wanted to cast unknowns and they wanted to cast big names. This contradicted the Angelina Jolie story. Angelina Jolie was not exactly an unknown. If one were casting for a female villain it's hard to think of too many bigger names than Angelina Jolie. Jolie's alleged participation was of the gossip variety and speculative. Helena Bonham Carter and Sarah Paulson were also alleged to be in the running for the part of the female villain.

Boyle was also said to be looking for an actress to play a young MI6 agent that Bond is a mentor to in the John Hodge script. The idea of a female MI6 agent was something that would also feature in what later became No Time to Die. Sophie Rundle, Ella Purnell, Antonia Thomas, and Lily James were alleged to be on the Danny Boyle shortlist of names in contention for the part of the young MI6 agent. The Daily Express reported that Benedict Cumberbatch was going to be in Boyle's Bond 25. This was something they'd picked up browsing Reddit and had no basis in fact. Mark Strong had also been linked to a part in Boyle's Bond film and stoked rumours by posting a picture of himself in the gym with Bond 25 related hashtags.

Playlist later claimed that EON and Daniel Craig didn't like Boyle and Hodge's proposed Bond film because they thought it was too humorous and light. They felt it was too much like Kingsman. While this felt like a stretch (the Kingsman comparison that is), it seemed plausible to think that the screenwriter behind Trainspotting and Shallow Grave was probably better at coming up with jokes than Sam Mendes had been in the two previous films. Production designer Mark Tildesley later described what Boyle was planning for Bond as 'extraordinary'. "Unfortunately Danny’s crazy, madcap ideas didn’t quite tie up with what Barbara and Michael had planned," said Tildesley. "It was definitely a good thing to do. Maybe another time though. I’m revving Barbara up to have another go with Danny. [He had] some extraordinary ideas, they just needed a little pulling together. Danny had ideas, and the ideas didn’t work out, and that was just the way it was."

It was alleged that Boyle's aborted Bond film was set to be more British based and less overblown than most Bond films. EON, according to whispers, felt that John Hodge's script was too light on action and stunts. Boyle apparently wanted to have a Cold War element (but in the present day) and include tension between the West and modern day Russia (which is still firmly in the corrupt iron grip of the sinister pint-sized quasi-dictator Vladimir Putin) in the story. Boyle later reflected that his love of the James Bond books might actually have been a detriment to directing a Bond film. His head was full of Ian Fleming stories but the producers wanted more of a modern and fresh take on the franchise. One might argue that a Bond film which tried to have more Fleming residue than usual might actually be a good idea and as refreshing as anything new the producers came up with themselves.

Danny Boyle, for his part, seemed relieved to have got out before it was too late. "I learned my lesson that I am not cut out for franchises, otherwise you’re digging in the same hole. I am better not quite in the mainstream franchise movies, is the honest answer. I learned quite a lot about myself with Bond, I work in partnership with writers and I am not prepared to break it up." Of Danny Boyle's departure, Barbara Broccoli would later say - "It was hard on both sides because we had mutual respect and admiration, but better to know [the differences] before you embark on a project. We worked together well for a number of months, but there came a point when we were discussing the kind of film that we wanted to make, and we both came to the conclusion we were not aligned. Movies are very hard to make when you’re all on the same page. When you’re not, it’s basically impossible; We recognised that, and in a respectful way we realised that it wasn’t going to work out."

Danny Boyle later seemed somewhat at a loss to explain why EON had not gone ahead with the Bond film he was developing. He felt that he and John Hodge had come up with interesting ideas that were worth persevering with. Daniel Craig would later say in an interview that Boyle had come up with a lot of ideas that were not quite right for a Bond film - or a Daniel Craig Bond film at least. It is possible that Danny Boyle making a Bond film was always something that was doomed to run into trouble. Boyle is used to a degree of creative freedom and improvisation that is not is not really possible on James Bond - a franchise where everything has to pass through Barbara Broccoli's office before it is allowed to move forward. Boyle brought his customary energy and enthusiasm to Bond 25 but ultimately it wasn't meant to be. Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig simply didn't like the direction that Boyle and John Hodge were heading in. They wanted to start all over again with a new script.

* The above article is an excerpt from the book No Time to Die - The Unofficial Companion.

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