Empire recently sat down with SKYFALL screenwriter John Logan to discuss the progress of the upcoming untitled BOND 24, gleaning some interesting tidbits about the script and the direction it's headed. Logan, who has written such films as GLADIATOR, THE LAST SAMURAI, HUGO, and the upcoming Showtime series, Penny Dreadful, has got a strong sense for genre material and with SKYFALL being the most successful of all Bond films, the screenwriter was quickly snatched up for the next entry in the series, along with returning director Sam Mendes. Logan doesn't divulge intimate details of the working script, but does give us a picture of where it's at and where it's going, which should tide you over for a bit.
On the current state of the script and returning themes:
“Right now the first draft is almost done,” he told us. “I’m terrifically excited about it! I’ve been working very closely with Sam (Mendes), and it’s been joyous to pick up from our work on Skyfall and just continue on with the storytelling. The new movie continues the themes of Skyfall. Some of the characters and themes that we began to introduce in Skyfall will play out, I hope successfully, in the next movie.”
On whether or not we'll see any elements from CASINO ROYALE or QUANTUM OF SOLACE in BOND 24:
“There might be! Honestly, not being evasive, but the great thing about Bond is that I have fifty years of movies – 23 movies and all the Ian Fleming novels and short stories, all of which are fodder. And when I’m working on the new Bond I’m constantly going back to Fleming and the other movies – what are the bits and pieces, what are the resonances? One of the things we learned in Skyfall is that the audience really enjoyed those, they enjoyed when they saw the Aston Martin, they enjoyed when we had references to things they grew up with, either from Ian Fleming or from the other movies, and that’s always been a part of my thinking about Bond.”
On working with Daniel Craig on the script:
“Daniel’s very involved. It behoves no-one to write a character that the lead actor doesn’t want to play, so having worked so closely on Skyfall, I have my own sense of what I think Dan responds to, as does Sam, (and producers) Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson of course.”
On his general enthusiasm for working on Bond:
“Working on Skyfall was the most enjoyable experience I’ve ever had on a movie, ever. And I’ve done a lot of movies! And this is shaping up in much the same way, because it’s a loving, sensitive director who loves the material as much as I do, it’s producers and a studio who believe entirely in the story we’re telling and it’s leading actors who are a joy to write for. Honestly, because I’ve been working on both Skyfall and the new Bond simultaneously it’s been a really, exuberantly happy time in my life because what I’m actually writing currently brings me incredible joy.”
Lastly, when asked if BOND 24 would be as big of a film as SKYFALL, Logan slyly replied, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” I thought SKYFALL was the sleekest and most refined of all the Bond films and I'm excited to have both Logan and Mendes back on the project. It feels like they've spent a great amount of time building Bond up with the soft reboot of CASINO ROYALE and SKYFALL finally released him from those chains. Now, with BOND 24, I'm ready to see an unhinged, veteran 007 at his peak, settled into his role as a secret agent and using that to his full advantage. Either way, I'm sure Logan is crafting something aweome. His track record alone is enough to bank on.
BOND 24 is set to start shooting this October with an eye toward release on November 6, 2015.