When Amazon purchased MGM for $8.5 billion back in 2022, they found themselves in the James Bond business, as the Bond franchise was set up at MGM – and they wanted to start making Bond movies as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, creative disagreements between Amazon MGM Studios and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli slowed down the process. So, earlier this year Amazon paid off Wilson and Broccoli (reported price: another $1 billion) so they can gain creative control over the franchise for the foreseeable future, hiring Amy Pascal of Pascal Pictures and David Heyman of Heyday Films to produce the next Bond film. Last week, we learned that Amazon, Pascal, and Heyman have found the director for Bond 26, hiring Denis Villeneuve to take the helm. It’s an interesting choice, not just due to his impressive filmography, but also because Villeneuve has been talking about his Bond fandom in interviews at least as far back as 2015. In fact, Villeneuve made his passion for Bond so clear, he was even given the chance to interview No Time to Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga about his Bond film when it was released! The video of that 40 minute interview has been circulating again in the wake of the “Villeneuve is the new Bond director” news, and we have it embedded above so our JoBlo readers can check it out.

No Time to Die is one of the more divisive entries in the Bond franchise, which is even evident here on JoBlo – Chris Bumbray gave the film an 8/10 review, while I found very little to enjoy about it at all. During his interview with Fukunaga, Villeneuve made it clear that he was one of the movie’s fans and was quite impressed by several aspects of it.

Signing on to direct Bond 26, Villeneuve provided the following statement: “Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor. Amy, David, and I are absolutely thrilled to bring him back to the screen. Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios for their trust.“ Jeff Sneider of The InSneider reported that “the current plan calls for Amazon MGM to hire a co-writer who will begin writing the next James Bond movie based on Villeneuve’s idea while the director is off working on Dune Messiah. Once that film wraps, Villeneuve will rewrite his co-writer’s draft before he begins casting.”

Did you find the Villeneuve / Fukunaga / No Time to Die interview to be interesting? Let us know by leaving a comment below.