Danny Boyle: ‘Bond 25 departure was a great shame’

Director Danny Boyle is saddened his “really good” vision for the next James Bond film will never be realised, branding his abrupt exit from the project “a great shame”.
The Slumdog Millionaire filmmaker stunned fans in August (18) when it was announced that he was parting ways with the movie’s star Daniel Craig, and franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, citing “creative differences” for the split.
Boyle has remained quiet about the reasons behind his departure, but now he has addressed the failed collaboration in a new interview for Britain’s Empire magazine, admitting he was excited about bringing to life the script he had co-written with his Trainspotting partner John Hodge.
“What John and I were doing, I thought, was really good,” he shared. “It wasn’t finished, but it could have been really good.”
The Brit has since reflected on the experience as a teaching moment, admitting he “learned quite a lot” about himself during the Bond breakdown, accepting that his ideas didn’t fit with what Broccoli and Wilson wanted for the superspy saga.
“We were working very, very well, but they didn’t want to go down that route with us,” Boyle shrugged. “So we decided to part company…”
Despite losing out on his dream gig, Boyle is hesitant to reveal all about what he had planned for the 25th Bond installment, although he is happy for his replacement, True Detective’s Cary Fukunaga, who exchanged a few kind words with his predecessor once his appointment was confirmed.
“It would be unfair to say what it (plot) was because I don’t know what Cary is going to do,” Boyle shared. “I got a very nice message from him and I gave him my best wishes…”
“It is just a great shame,” he added.
Fukunaga was hired to take over the stalled movie a month after Boyle stepped down, and as a result of the delay, the release of the film was pulled from it’s initially scheduled launch date of November, 2019.
Craig will return as 007 for the fifth time, while Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek has reportedly been tapped to play the villain.
Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris are also set to reprise their roles from previous Bond films in the new installment, which is said to have the working title Shatterhand.
Production is expected to begin this spring (19), ahead of the new premiere date of April, 2020.