Cary Joji Fukunaga to direct Bond 25 for a February 2020 release

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

To say that getting BOND 25 off the ground has been a challenge is a bit of an understatement. First there was figuring out if Daniel Craig would return (accompanied with “Who should replace him?” stories galore) and then drama with the director, which was Danny Boyle until he recently left the project. But now the crazy train is docking, and everything has been set straight as Cary Joji Fukunaga (TRUE DETECTIVE, BEASTS OF NO NATION) has been hired to direct Craig in the next BOND movie.

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Craig and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced today (via the James Bond Twitter) that the acclaimed director would be taking on the latest adventure that will take on the new release date of February 14, 2020. "We are delighted to be working with Cary,” Wilson and Broccoli said in a statement. “His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure.”

Boyle was hired after a very long director search and was brought on after he and writer John Hodge pitched a new, unique idea that diverted from what recurring writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade had planned. Whatever this new approach was clearly wasn’t working for everyone, with news swirling Boyle and Craig had issues over the villain. Boyle decided to leave the project, and now the producers have decided to back to the original story and script by Purvis and Wade, which Fukunaga will bring to life. He is the first American director to ever take on a BOND movie. 

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As for the release date it was expected there would be a push after Boyle dropped out, and Craig has already committed to a new project with STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI director Rian Johnson, and that will begin shooting in November. Craig will then move right into Bond in March, and the movie will be released the following year. This will mark the first time in 30 years that a BOND movie will not be released in the Fall/Winter season, with the last movie to do so being LICENCE TO KILL in 1989 with Timothy Dalton (it had a June release). 

Fukunaga is a great choice to helm the new Bond movie for a few reasons, namely for his ability to craft bounce between tension, suspense, and searing drama. His biggest directorial effort was supposed to be IT a few years ago before leaving the project (he still retained a writing credit), but BOND is an even larger gig and one that comes with a lot of pressure. We here wish him good luck and hope he brings that ingenuity to the spy franchise. Also, just throwing it out there, he directed Idris Elba to an Oscar-worthy performance in BEASTS OF NO NATION a few years ago, so, just sayn'. 

BOND 25 is set for February 14, 2020, and Fukunaga's new miniseries MANIAC hits Netflix tomorrow!