Reel Facts & Opinions: The Next James Bond Film

 

FACT: Executives at MGM studios have stated that the next James Bond film, which would be a follow-up to last year’s SKYFALL, will hit screens within the next three years.

SKYFALL is the most lucrative film in 007’s history, having pulled in over a billion dollars world-wide. It is also the first Bond film to win an Oscar since THUNDERBALL in 1965.

OPINION: With all of its awards and monies earned, a strong argument can be made for SKYFALL as the best of the 23 James Bond films. With all that momentum (compounded by strong home video sales), it seems like MGM would want to capitalize on SKYFALL’s success while the iron is still hot. Three years feels like a long way off, and current Bond actor Daniel Craig will be 48 years old by that time.

MGM certainly wants to have Bond back as soon as possible, so they are certainly not dragging their feet here. From a filmmaking standpoint, it usually does take a few years to get a film put together; starting from the scripting stage, to casting, to filming. With such a loose schedule, MGM can take their time developing a good story and script, and also handle the minor matter of finding a new director (SKYFALL director Sam Mendes is not expected to return).

And no matter what, fans of 007 will come back to see their favorite martini-guzzling secret agent despite the long layoff. Four years passed between SKYFALL and its predecessor QUANTUM OF SOLACE, and the box-office numbers didn’t suffer a cent. Looking back, six years passed between LICENSE TO KILL (1989) and GOLDENEYE (1995), and when the fans returned they were pleased with an rejuventated franchise.

Other examples throughout film history are clear: seven years passed between ALIEN (1979) and ALIENS (1986), seven years passed between TERMINATOR (1984) and TERMINATOR 2 (1991), and nearly a decade passed before Peter Jackson made his return to Middle-Earth (RETURN OF THE KING was in 2003, THE HOBBIT came about in 2012). In every one of those cases, the fans came back.

If absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, then James Bond will certainly have a warm welcome awaiting him in 2015. Ish.

What say you?