It has been clear since the beginning of October: The next James Bond film is definitely not coming from Christopher Nolan. Although many fans wanted the British filmmaker to direct Bond 26, Nolan is now pursuing his own new project at Universal that has nothing to do with the double zero agent.
Meanwhile, the rumor mill continues to speculate. Who is filming Bond 26? Most recently, a list of six names made the rounds, including German director Edward Berger, who is on everyone’s lips these days with his nerve-wracking Vatican thriller Conclave. But this list may have long been outdated.
Is Steve McQueen making the next James Bond film? That’s what a look into the rumor mill says
The British tabloid The Sun claims to have learned from its sources that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the producers behind the Bond series, approached none other than Steve McQueen and asked him if he could imagine to get involved in a new film.
McQueen is said to have given a positive signal about a possible bond participation. When asked whether there was anything to it, the Sun only had one from his team “no comment” received in response. Of course, that could mean anything. So we should this vague director rumor with utmost caution enjoy.
It’s still exciting: McQueen’s Bond involvement would go down as a milestone in film history, because he would be the one first black directorwhich puts 007 in the spotlight. Since his breakthrough with Hunger (2008) and Shame (2011), he has also transformed himself into one of the most well-known representatives of British cinema.
From the big Oscar success 12 Years a Slave to the dark thriller Widow: This is Steve McQueen
McQueen won the Oscars with 12 Years a Slave (2013). He then directed the acclaimed BBC anthology Small Ax (2020), which tells of Caribbean immigrants in London in the 1970s and 1980s, and the 266-minute documentary Occupied City (2023) about the occupation of Amsterdam in World War II.
Also set in the Second World War is the war drama Blitz, which has been in cinemas since this week and will be released on Apple TV+ at the end of the month. However, McQueen is most likely to qualify for Bond in another film, namely the neo-noir heist thriller Widows (2018). But one thing could be his undoing with Bond.
McQueen isn’t exactly what you would call a craftsman in Hollywood – that is, a director who makes a blockbuster on time according to the studio’s ideas delivers without exceeding the budget. Niche projects like Small Ax and Occupied City show that his interests lie somewhere completely different.
Steven McQueen would be a risky but even more exciting choice to direct James Bond 26
However, Broccoli and Wilson are said to be looking for such a director stable foundation for the next Bond era. McQueen’s profile fits more closely with that of Marc Forster, who delivered one of the most idiosyncratic Bonds in Quantum of Solace, whose qualities are still controversial today.
Since the next film in the series marks a complete reboot, nothing can go wrong both in front of and behind the camera. McQueen, who has yet to produce a major action blockbuster, represents a certain risk. From an artistic perspective, a Bond of him would be all the more exciting.