Earlier this week, October 8 marked the third anniversary of No Time to Die. Not only was it the last James Bond film to star Daniel Craig, it’s also the last big Bond thing to hit period, unless you count that game show. Despite rumors popping up over the last few years about the next actor, Amazon MGM and the Broccoli family haven’t said anything definitive about who’s up next to be 007, or when to expect his next outing.
The reason for that, according to the company’s global head Jennifer Salke, basically boils down to confidence. In a recent interview with The Guardian, she believed the world “will be patient” and gladly take the next James Bond film whenever it comes. They’re not looking to have an enormously long wait between No Time and whatever’s next, but for now? “We are not concerned at this point,” she conclusively stated.
Last year, the Broccolis revealed the franchise’s executives were trying to figure out what direction for James Bond to go next. Salke also feels there are “lots of different ways” to take the character next, but MGM itself won’t be putting any ideas of its own forward. Its “good and close relationship” with the Broccolis and the films’ longtime producer Michael G. Wilson means the studio “isn’t looking to disrupt the way those wonderful films are made.”
Three years isn’t that long in the grand scheme, and it’s not even the longest gap for Bond specifically. But it is noticeable in the modern franchise age: look at various superhero franchises, where a decent gap between movies can elicit confusion or concern amongst fans and general audiences. (Look at Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, and Batman as notable examples.) Unlike Marvel or DC characters, James Bond doesn’t really have anything like a TV show or video game to make folks ignore that isn’t just another spy franchise like Mission Impossible. Letting the studio cook and find the right actor and team is always the right move, but how long can Bond afford to stay in cinematic retirement?
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