It’s with mixed emotions that I write the news that Neal Pervis and Robert Wade are returning to write the screenplay for Bond 25. The duo have been involved with the Bond films since The World Is Not Enough (writers strike aside) and the results have been mixed to say the least. The two delivered us the almost perfect Casino Royale, but also brought us the problematic Die Another Day.
The best Bond film since their tenure started, Skyfall, saw their original screenplay heavily reworked by John Logan. Then in a reverse, the screenplay for Spectre was taken from Logan and given to them to punch up a bit. The result was the thoroughly Bond version of Bond we got in that film that didn’t play as well as it should have.
So what version of Pervis and Wade will we be getting this time? Who knows. We don’t even know if Craig will return again so it may all be dependent on the actor. Reports are that he’s still undecided, despite that dump truck of money the studio has parked outside of his house. Craig felt a bit ill-suited for the Roger Moore style Bond that was Spectre, but another actor could fit right in. Maybe Pervis and Wade, if given total control, can deliver a more coherent screenplay. They’ve done it before… but they’ve also missed the mark wildly.
