fter a year of delays and speculations and rumours, due to Sony buying out MGM and a lawsuit by MGM and the Broccoli family against Sony regarding the James Bond movie rights and titles library, it’s now official!!
In an official press release today, it’s been confirmed that “Casino Royale” will be the next James Bond film under the helm of “Goldeneye” director Martin Campbell.
"Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the James Bond films, and MGM announced today that Martin Campbell will direct “Casino Royale”, the 21st film in the 007 franchise. This is Campbell’s second time as helmer of a James Bond film. In 1995 he directed the hit “Goldeneye” which introduced Pierce Brosnan to the role of 007 with great success.
Wilson and Broccoli said: “We are thrilled that Martin has accepted our offer to direct “Casino Royale”. He is an extremely talented director and we believe he will help take our films in a new and exciting direction. He is currently finishing filming ‘Legend Of Zorro’, the sequel to ‘The Mask Of Zorro’, and will be joining EON Productions shortly to work on the development of the script with our writers, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.”
MGM Vice Chairman and COO Chris McGurk said: “Martin is an incredibly exciting filmmaker. “Goldeneye” was a wonderful movie and helped reinvigorate the Bond franchise. We’re thrilled to have him back to direct the newest Bond.”
Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to England in 1966 and made his directorial debut on the popular TV series’ ‘The Professionals’ and ‘Minder’. He moved to America in 1986 to direct ‘Criminal Law’ and ‘Defenceless’. Following ‘Goldeneye’, he went on to direct ‘The Mask Of Zorro’, ‘Vertical Limit’ and ‘Beyond Borders’ and is currently directing ‘Legend Of Zorro’.
No word as yet as to whether it will use all, some or none of the original Ian Fleming novel. First published in 1953, “Casino Royale” was the first James Bond novel and its tone bares little resemblance to either its 1967 film spoof or MGM’s Bond movies as the original Bond novels were much darker and more serious than their film counterparts. This one in particular was more downbeat and less glossy than others in the series and includes a legendary torture scene.
In the original story, ‘M’ sends Commander Bond to the gambling tables of the French Riviera to thwart an enemy Russian spy, Le Chiffre, in his attempts to win back multi-millions of KGB funds which he had lost through an ill-advised investment. The catch is the Russian secret service is on LeChiffe’s tail and so the man has hired his own assassins to make sure he gets through the games and wins.
In a written statement on Tuesday February 2nd, Pierce Brosnan asserts that “Die Another Day” was his last outing in the famous tuxedo, and he will not be back in Bond 21:
"I would like to thank all of you who have supported me over the last year or so in regard to my playing Bond. It was a decade of my life that I will always hold dear to my heart and a time that will never be forgotten. And you dear friends stood by me throughout. Many, many thanks! But everything comes to an end, and one must accept this decision which cannot be dealt with in any other way but with some kind of grace and knowledge that I did the job to the best of my ability
No decision has yet been made regarding casting for the role of ‘James Bond’:
Current top contenders for the role include Daniel Craig (Tomb Raider movie) and unknown Scottish actor Rory McCann (Oliver Stone’s Alexander):
“Casino Royale” will be released in November 2006.
