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A few days ago we got word that there would be some big news about the 25th Bond film landing this week and, of course, everyone figured it would be a title and some plot details. Instead, we got a really oddly done live stream from Ian Flemming’s Goldeneye in Jamaica with sound issues, odd shooting, and a decidedly low-budget feel. The did, however, release a few details.
To start the film will begin shooting on April 28, 2019. That’s in line with the projected release date of April 8, 2020. They’re beginning the shooting in Jamiaca where Bond is relaxing after leaving the service at the end of Spectre, marking the second Craig Bond film where he’ll be chilling on an island at the beginning of a movie. Here’s the official plot synopsis:
Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
This brief little blurb kind of tears apart the theory that this is a direct adaptation of some sort to Ian Flemming’s You Only Live Twice, but it doesn’t completely destroy it. In that novel Bond is sent to Japan by M as a diplomat without his 007 but finds out that Blofeld, after going through extensive plastic surgery, is there hiding in a castle with a garden of death. While the synopsis doesn’t hint at any of that it also doesn’t remove it from the realm of possibility. They could just be getting us to the return of Blofeld and his garden of death via a different route and considering Bond’s love interest, Lea Seydoux, is still alive we’re definitely starting from a different plot point anyway.
The rest of the cast accompanying Daniel Crag and Seydoux will be Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, and Jeffrey Wright — all of whom are returning to their roles. They’ll be joined by Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen and Rami Malek. Obviously, Malek will be playing the main bad guy here, and if that’s a “reconstructed” Blofeld I am all for it. Hell, I’m all for Malek playing any Bond villain. It’s just great casting.
While all that news is great the most important bit of information from the press release is that long time Bond screenwriters Neil Purvis and Robert Wade have had help with the screenplay by direct Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Scott Z. Burns. The best Bond films come out when Purvis and Wade get a bit of help in crafting their plots. The two definitely have a skill for making Bond “Bond,” but they need help in making Bond good. With the likes of Burns, Bridge, and Fukunaga helping it should let the screenplay be a bit stronger than Spectre‘s bloated, careening story.
You can watch the entire announcement video above but it really isn’t worth it unless you’re very into James Bond. I am, so I did. You probably don’t need to.
