James Bond film lands Dune director Denis Villeneuve after $8.5B Amazon deal
While fans still wait news on who the next actor to play British super-spy James Bond will be, Amazon MGM Studios has found the film's director.
The studio announced Wednesday that Denis Villeneuve - best known for directing Warner Bros.' two-part Dune adaptation - has signed on to direct the untitled film, via Amazon press release.
The 57-year-old French-Canadian filmmaker will also serve as executive producer of the project alongside Tanya Lapointe.
Amazon had previously set Amy Pascal and David Heyman as the film's producers, after the studio parted ways with longtime 007 caretakers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
The news comes just over three years after Amazon completed its massive $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM Studios that included the James Bond franchise.
There hasn't been a new 007 film since 2021's No Time to Die, the final film with Daniel Craig as the beloved secret agent.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
16 minutes ago
- The Sun
Coronation Street star reveals she's found love with Doctor Who star as they go Instagram official
CORONATION Street actress Kimberly Hart-Simpson has revealed she has found love with Doctor Who star Nathan McMullen. The new couple have gone Instagram official with their romance, after posting a series of loved-up snaps from a romantic trip to Blackpool. 5 5 5 The soap star, who is best known for playing Nikki Wheatley on Corrie, recently teased that she had finally found love but didn't reveal who her mystery man was. But now, the actress, 38, has confirmed she is dating Nathan, 37. Doctor Who fans will recognise him from playing Wolf the Elf in the festive edition of the sci-fi show in 2014. He also played Finn in Misfits, and Angelo in Shameless. Revealing their romance, Celebs Go Dating star Kimberly took to Instagram to make things official. She shared a slew of sweet snaps from a trip to Blackpool with her new man. Captioning the post, the actress joked: 'When choosing a partner it helps that they are the same size clothing/footsize cus not only do you get a new bestie… "But a new wardrobe too.' She then added: 'Anyways thoroughly enjoying seeing the world (Blackpool) with you @nathanmcmullen88.' Kimberly's friends and followers were quick to congratulate her on her new relationship. Coronation Street star Kimberly Hart-Simpson poses with rarely-seen mum in hot tub on holiday at £300 a NIGHT retreat - and there's a secret VIP service The pair are thought to have been introduced by Kimberley's best friend and former Hollyoaks actress Jessica Ellis. Jessica, who played Tegan Lomax on the Channel 4 soap, confirmed how she played matchmaker between the pair, and commented, 'Just call me Cilla.' underneath her pal's post. Corrie fans know Kimberly for playing the role of sex worker Nicky. Her character arrived on the famous cobbles in 2020, and she struck up a surprising friendship with Dan Osborne, after he enlisted her services following the death of his wife Sinead Tinker. As well as playing Nicky in Corrie on and off since 2020, Kimberly also starred alongside EastEnders star Danielle Harold for Celebrity Hunted earlier this year. Away from TV, Kimberly runs her own fashion business, Hart-Work. When she left Corrie in 2022, before returning last year, she set up the reupholstering company. 5
Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Telegraph
As a fan of The Who, this wretched ‘mod ballet' makes me want to weep
'Where's Matthew Bourne when you need him most?' This sad thought kept ricocheting around my mind on Tuesday evening as this slick, well-meaning, wretchedly anodyne dance-theatre version of The Who's marvellous 1973 album – which became an even more marvellous film in 1979 – played out. The mod-ish moves, the hormone-driven mayhem, the fabled mid-Sixties setting – oh, to think what fun he and his designer Lez Brotherston could have had with it all. For all its grandiosity, that 1973 'rock opera' is packed full of cracking music, and it was put to perfect use in Franc Roddam's work-of-art movie, a confection that positively bubbled over with teenage swagger, insecurity and take-no-prisoners tribalism – as well as sex, drugs and (yep) rock'n'roll. Do watch it if you can; there's nothing quite like it. The fundamental problem with this new 'mod ballet', though, is that all the sharp or exciting edges of the album's narrative – so cleverly exploited and amped up on the big screen – have been either completely filed off or at least sanded down to an unthreatening shine. The album's story is essentially there: Jimmy (the lithe Paris Fitzpatrick), a young mod living in 1965 London, wars with his parents, fights rockers in Brighton, tries to keep up with his pals and win the heart of Mod Girl (Leslie Ash in the film, and here by Serena McCall), all the while looking up to the ultra-cool, Sting-like Ace Face (athletic Dan Baines). But excitement is absent and the fundamental elements don't add up. The entire thing is swamped by almost invariably syrupy, bombastic orchestral arrangements of The Who album by Martin Batchelar and Rachel Fuller (aka Mrs Townshend) that are both typical of the problem and a fatal part of it. One terrific bar scene aside, director Rob Ashford – who has done high-octane work in the past with megastars from Diana Ross to Prince – seldom seems to get fully under the skin of the mod-ish dance moves of the era, and tends to resort to a one-size-fits all contemporary vocabulary that very rarely surprises. Sometimes, it even stumbles into unintentional comedy, especially with the strange, soaring lifts in what is supposed to be a brutal seaside clash. (The same, sad to say, is true of the will-this-never-end climax.) Even the usually exhilarating Royal Ballet principal Matthew Ball, cameoing as Jimmy's rock-star hero, blamelessly comes across as bland. As for Christoper Oram's sets and uber-designer Paul Smith's costumes, these, too, seem to fall oddly in and out of the era. Some of the outfits, and one or two of the less video-dominated sets, fit the bill crisply, but there's an overwhelming sense of lip service being paid to the 1965 setting, without ever making you feel as if you're there. So much, then, for the rock'n'roll – what about the sex and drugs? Jimmy's frustration comes across loud and clear, and the masturbation scene is present and correct, but without packing any sort of illicit, desperate or tragic punch. As for the uppers, there is, to be fair, a character actually called 'Drugs' (played by the aptly seductive Amaris Gilles), decked out in azure to, I'm assuming, reflect that Jimmy's amphetamine of choice is the so-called 'blue'. At one point, he even takes to the air like The Snowman as a high hits him. But again, there is no real menace; no thrill of the forbidden or sense of a downward spiral. The conceptual oddness of Drugs is continued in the quartet of characters who intermittently accompany Jimmy, depending on the situation – one, I gather, for each of The Who's four members. There's the Tough Guy (Roger Daltrey), the Lunatic (Keith Moon), the Romantic (Townshend) and the Hypocrite (purely, I must stress, by process of elimination, John Entwistle). But these amount to nothing more than dramaturgical affectation, watering down Jimmy's sense of gnawing isolation and leaving you scratching your head because it is never clear which one is which; you just wish they'd scarper. What is so particularly sad about this show – endorsed by Townshend, conceived with love, and with all performers doing their level best – is the disappointment that lies in wait not for people who already know the music and the film, but for those who don't. The uninitiated could well come away from this wondering what the big fuss is, not only about Quadrophenia but about one of the most skin-prickling rock bands of all time – and it makes me want to weep.
Scottish Sun
30 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Die hard James Bond fan' officially announced as next 007 director ahead of new movie
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SELF-CONFESSED "die hard Bond fan" has been officially announced as the director of the new 007 movie. The chuffed Canadian film-maker told how some of his "earliest movie-going memories" were linked to the James Bond movie franchise. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 6 A huge new appointment has been made in the 007 movie franchise Credit: Alamy 6 Denis Villeneuve has been appointed as director Credit: AP 6 It comes as the next actor to play the iconic spy has yet to come to light Credit: Alamy Now Dune director Denis Villeneuve, 57, has been appointed the director of the 26th James Bond flick by Amazon MGM, with an announcement revealing he will also work as executive producer. It comes as the mystery as to who will play the movie protagonist remains under wraps - with a new Brit name in the frame. Now Denis, who has also made films including Sicario and Arrival, will work on the flick alongside his professional partner Tanya Lapointe. He spoke out after his role was made public and said: "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." In the statement, he added: "To me, he's sacred territory. "I intend to honour 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 honour. "Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios for their trust." Awkward moment Hollywood star SWERVES James Bond question live on air BOND DETAILS Previously, it was also confirmed that Bond will still be a British man despite the film rights Hollywood streaming site Amazon. Half-siblings Barbara Broccoli, 64, and Michael G Wilson, 83, took over the Bond franchise from their father and stepfather Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli - who bought the film rights from Bond creator Ian Fleming in 1961. Since then there have been 25 movies - where Bond defeats villains bent on destruction, all while drinking martinis and seducing women. Before giving up ownership of the popular film franchise, 007's stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson insisted the spy would retain his nationality and gender. Timeline of James Bond actors Over the years there have been seven actors who have played 007. The first ever James Bond film was in 1962, and this is who has played the lead role over the years: Sean Connery - The late star was the first ever actor to play Bond, and reprised the role for seven movies. George Lazenby - The star only played Bond once, but was the youngest actor to ever play the spy. Roger Moore - The late movie star spent 12 years making seven films in the famous franchise. Timothy Dalton - The smooth actor took over from Roger Moore and appeared in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. Pierce Brosnan - The handsome star played Bond for four movies from 1995 to 2002. Daniel Craig - The British star was the first blonde James Bond and the sixth actor to win the role in 2005. Ms Broccoli, who took over the Bond brand from company Eon Productions alongside Mr Wilson in 1995, made the arrangement before she agreed to sell the rights to Amazon in a £770million deal. An insider told the Mail on Sunday: 'Amazon is committed to keeping the spirit of Bond alive and that means he has to be British or from the Commonwealth - and he has to be male.' TOP SPOT? Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have all been tipped to replace Daniel Craig as the Secret Service agent. Aaron, 34, fuelled rumours he'd bagged the role after signing a deal with Omega - the brand of watch the 007 spy wears. Omega has been supplying timepieces to the iconic literary and movie character since the release of 1995 flick, Golden Eye. The Sun told last year how Aaron had been offered the job - with insiders saying at the time Eon Productions were keen to snap him up. Despite that, still hovering around the top spot is fellow Brit hunk Theo James, 40, who some fans are convinced will lead the race to victory. Bookmakers Coral also told how Kirkby-born TV star Stephen Graham, 51, had entered the line-up contenders. Yet The Underground Railroad screen star Aaron Pierre, 31, is now a new name in the frame. 6 Dune director Denis will also work as executive producer Credit: Alamy 6 Aaron Taylor-Johnson was a forerunner to play Bond - and appeared to drop a huge clue when he signed a deal with the watch brand the character wears Credit: Instagram/OMEGA
