James Bond producers are showing signs of moving forward on the next sequel, even if they don't have Daniel Craig or a Hollywood studio signed up just yet.
Talk about Bond 25 has been heating up ever since it was revealed that the franchise's studio Sony Pictures will be bidding to keep the rights against Warner Bros, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Annapurna Pictures.
According to IndieWire, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli's director search is heating up too — with Sherlock and Marvel's Luke Cage veteran Paul McGuigan as the current frontrunner.
Wilson and Broccoli are apparently impressed with the job McGuigan has done on Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, their upcoming movie about film legend Gloria Grahame's (Annette Bening) affair with an up-and-coming actor (Jamie Bell).
McGuigan would be an intriguing choice, seeing as he has previous action movie experience with Bruce Willis's Lucky Number Slevin and the Chris Evans science fiction project Push.
IndieWire is reporting that Wilson and Broccoli are moving forward under the expectation that Daniel Craig will be back for a fifth and final Bond outing, but that's not yet set in stone.
Earlier this year, Moneypenny actress Naomie Harris revealed she too was optimistic about the likelihood of Daniel Craig returning for at least one more outing as 007.
"I really don't think that [Wilson and Broccoli have] moved on from Daniel," Harris said. "I think there's a very good chance that Daniel will come back. I think it's way too early to be thinking about other people at this stage."
