Here's all you need to know about director Denis Villeneuve's new Bond film – from who could play 007 to leading actress

The Sun

5 hours ago

AFTER years of speculation, it has been revealed that Dune director Denis Villeneuve will take the helm for the 26th James Bond movie.
Yesterday's announcement by Amazon, new owners of the 007 franchise, now offers fans a tantalising glimpse into what might be in store for the suave spy.
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Villeneuve, 57, has worked closely with some of the most handsome leading men in Hollywood — so will that influence who will step into Daniel Craig 's tuxedo as the Martini-loving leading man?
In one sense, the franchise will be in safe hands with the Canadian director, who said: 'I'm a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he's sacred territory. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father.'
And Villeneuve has been hailed as a 'cinematic master' by Mike Hopkins, head of Amazon MGM Studios, which paid billions to take creative control of the films from Barbara Broccoli 's Eon Productions earlier this year.
Barbara took over as Bond producer from her father Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli in 1995. And she even tried to hire Villeneuve for the spy's last outing in 2021's No Time To Die.
But fans fear the new film might lack Bond's famous wit and saucy humour. Movies orchestrated by Villeneuve tend to be somewhat serious and sombre.
His leading men are often emotionally isolated loners wrestling with difficult moral dilemmas.
So whoever is cast next is more likely to resemble Daniel Craig's brooding Bond than Roger Moore's eyebrow-raising playboy.
Oscars, five Baftas and two Golden Globes.
His big break came when his fourth film, Incendies, was shown at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals in 2010.
Hollywood took notice and his movies have gone on to make a billion pounds worldwide, largely thanks to the two Dune movies.
Daniel Craig says goodbye to James Bond as gives an emotional speech to cast and crew on the set of No Time To Die
Villeneuve is married to journalist Tanya Lapointe and has three children from his previous relationship with actress Macha Grenon.
His daughter Salome is also a filmmaker and her debut short film III premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
Villeneuve will be the first director to also executive produce a Bond film, meaning he will have final say over the edit.
Ajay Chowdhury, from the James Bond International Fan Club, said: 'This is testimony to his position in the cinematic landscape as one the top practitioners of the craft.'
But with no cast confirmed, it could still be years before the box office opens for business.
In the meantime, we take a look at what might happen . . .
WHO WILL BE THE NEW 007?
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There are plenty of Brits still in the running, too.
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WHO WILL BE A BOND GIRL?
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THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES
SOME Bond buffs are making a bizarre (and incorrect) connection between the filmmaker and 007.
Villeneuve once said his favourite place is The Magdalen Islands, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
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The claim is that ornithologist James Bond – who author Ian Fleming named his hero after – is known for his work on the birds of those Islands.
But he was actually miles away in the West Indies.
It could be the first black and white Bond. Villeneuve shot the first major scenes for Dune: Part Two in black and white, leading to frantic calls from studio bosses.
It could take years to shoot as Villeneuve is still tied up with Dune: Messiah, Nuclear War: A Scenario, a new version of Cleopatra and Rendezvous With Rama.
THE LOCATIONS
MANY of Villeneuve's most iconic movie locations will also be familiar to Bond fans. They include:
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Norway: The dramatic cliffs and fjords were used for the ancestral home of the Atreides family in Dune, while the country's Lake Langvann was the setting for Madeleine Swann's childhood home in No Time To Die.
Hungary: Blade Runner 2049 might have been a box office flop, but critics raved about its 'cold visual magnificence'. In part this was due to large amounts being shot in Budapest. The city's Memento Park was also the inspiration for Statue Park in 1995's GoldenEye.
Mexico: Sicario is set in the central American country, which also featured prominently in the opening sequence of 2015 Bond film Spectre.