‘True Detective’ Helmer Cary Joji Fukunaga Replaces Danny Boyle On ‘Bond 25’

When Danny Boyle unexpectedly left the job of directing the 25th James Bond adventure last month over creative differences, it left the producers in a bit of a pickle. Boyle was a coup for the franchise — the second Oscar-winner to take on a 007 joint, and his take, with long-time writer John Hodge, was said to be a very particular pitch that had caused Eon to abandon a previous iteration that had directors like David Mackenzie, Denis Villeneuve and Yann Demange circling.

Suddenly, they were left with a major directorial vacancy and barely a year before the film’s planned release date, a date that had hundreds of millions riding on it (Annapurna have paid a pretty penny to distribute the movie in the U.S). Candidates emerged — Demange and Mackenzie were linked again, A-listers Edgar Wright and Jean-Marc Vallee were mentioned, and relative newcomers  S.J. Clarkson (who would have been the first woman to helm a Bond flick) and Bart Layton too. But the job has now been filled, per a tweet from the official 007 Twitter account, and it’s a name that should make a lot of people happy: Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Fukunaga’s been one of Hollywood’s hottest properties for nearly a decade, beginning with his debut “Sin Nombre” and kicking up a gear with his work on the first season of “True Detective,” which elevated him to the A-list. Interestingly, Fukunaga hasn’t actually made a fully traditionally theatrically released movie since 2011’s “Jane Eyre” — his last film, 2015’s “Beasts Of No Nation,” was for Netflix, as is his imminent series “Maniac,” which hits the streaming service on Friday.

Fukunaga becomes, interestingly, the first American director ever to make a Bond movie with the new, still-untitled film (one could say that it’s *takes off sunglasses* SIN NOMBRE), and with his Japanese ancestry, also the first director of color to take on the gig. And he’s a pretty great pick if you ask us: he’s more than established his flair and facility for muscular action, but he’s also capable of thoughtfulness that will likely keep star Daniel Craig (whose falling out with Boyle is said to have lead to the previous director’s departure) happy.

He doesn’t have that much time to get the project together, but he has a little breathing room — the announcement also revealed that filming will kick off in March, and the film’s release has been pushed back to February 14th, 2020, the first time since “Licence To Kill” that a Bond film has been released outside the November date that’s been traditional since the start of the Brosnan era (that’ll pit it against Fox animation “Nimona,” an untitled DC film and an untitled Disney live action pic — expect at least some of those, and Vin Diesel actioner “Bloodshot” which opens the week after, to find other dates before long).

The announcement doesn’t say specifically who’s penning the script, but recent reports suggested that franchise veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade would be returning after the abandonment of the Hodge script. Fukunaga writes as well as directs though, so don’t be surprised if his fingerprints end up on the screenplay too.

A slight note of caution: Fukunaga’s proven in the past that he’s not afraid to walk away from massive jobs, departing his adaptation of Stephen King’s “It” not long before production over, yep, creative differences. But assuming he gets to the start line, we’ll be seeing his take on Bond hit theaters on February 14th, 2020.

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