There are bond rumours a-plenty, from who's going to be the next actor to step into the infamous tuxedo to which artist will be creating the next iconic Bond song. But movie buffs and Bond fanatics alike will be excited to hear the latest martini-drinking update: British screenwriter Steven Knight is reportedly set to write the next movie.
According to Deadline, Knight recently met with director Denis Villeneuve and secured the gig after various other writers were also considered - we wonder what that job interview process was like. Villeneuve is probably best known for his sci-fi hits like Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and most recently, the Dune trilogy, currently filming the third instalment of the latter.
Stepping into the writing role, Knight is a familiar face from a range of British cult classics, from game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? which he co-created with David Briggs and Mike Whitehill, to the crime-busting underground world of Peaky Blinders.
His credits also include A Thousand Blows, The Veil, and Taboo - starring Tom Hardy. So, Knight is no stranger to big names and big shows. Although we hope his take on Bond will be more on the Peaky Blinders end of the scale rather than gameshow.
Amongst his many successful TV credits, it’s easy to forget that Knight is just as much a film writer as a TV writer and creator. His film credits include scripts for Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things, and Locke and Spencer. Plus, he’s basically not getting any rest, as he’s currently working on a couple of other big film projects, including The Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man, and a period drama series that sounds right up our street, titled House of Guinness.
Whilst Knight hasn’t confirmed if he’s been tapped for the job, he has talked about 007 before. In an interview with The Mirror in 2023, Knight said, “The biggest difference between a film and TV series is the budget…When you do stuff for TV, you often have to ask people to imagine it. But with a film, you can really do it. You can blow stuff up. Will Tommy be giving James Bond a run for his money? Maybe. There are parallels.”
Actors in the running to play Bond
We still don’t know who the next Bond will be, with everyone from Piers Brosnan to Henry Cavill having had their names thrown into the ring (we're voting for Brosnan to make a comeback as M). However, the top choices at the moment include Harris Dickinson, Tom Holland, Richard Madden, Sam Heughan, Jacob Elordi - and of course, the most rumoured of all, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
The 26th Bond film will follow Daniel Craig’s final outing, No Time to Die, which made over $774m at the global box office. Earlier this year, in a reported $1bn deal, Amazon MGM bought the rights to gain creative control of the franchise.
Maybe Knight's involvement means we'll finally see 007 don a flat cap?
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