After all the uncertainty surrounding Daniel Craig's future and the surprise departure of original director Danny Boyle, it looked like everything was back on track for James Bond 25.
Sure, the movie was delayed until February 14, 2020 from its original November 2019 release, but at least a new director had come on board in the form of True Detective's Cary Joji Fukunaga. We were also given a filming start date of March 4, 2019 and everything looked all set for Daniel Craig's (probable) final outing as 007. Until it wasn't.
On Friday (15 February), it was confirmed that James Bond 25 would be delayed by two months to April 8, 2020. No reason was given and there was no word on whether it would affect the production start date either.
According to Variety, the movie will start shooting as planned on March 4, but that was before The Playlist reported that Scott Z Burns had been brought on board to rewrite Neal Purvis and Robert Wade's script.
Nothing has been officially confirmed about the involvement of Burns, but he is said to have done uncredited rewrite work on the likes of The Bourne Supremacy, Ocean's 12 and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – and all of those movies turned out pretty well.
If it does turn out to be the case that there's not a finalised script in place before filming starts, it brings back worrying memories of Spectre, where Purvis and Wade were hired to do a last-minute rewrite. Uncredited Skyfall writer Jez Butterworth also worked on the original script for Spectre from John Logan.
That mix of writers working on the script didn't prevent Spectre from being a disappointment for most fans, despite taking $880 million worldwide. The only other one of Daniel Craig's Bond movies to receive a mixed response? Quantum of Solace, which was notable for the actor himself having to rewrite the script due to the writers' strike.
Spectre ended with Bond heading off into the sunset with Dr Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) and it felt like a farewell for Daniel Craig. Confirming his return, Craig said that he just wanted to "go out on a high note", suggesting that had Spectre been better received, it could have been his final Bond movie, especially following that infamous interview. Given his comments, it's not unreasonable to wonder how committed Craig is to the character in 2019.
His surprise return as 007, though, means the movie already has to justify why he's come back and provide a fitting end to his tenure. No easy task, so if the production delays and rewrites are to ensure it's the best movie it could be, then we're all for it.
It's also not uncommon for modern Bond movies to have multiple writers working on them. Skyfall was written by Purvis, Wade and Logan (with Butterworth uncredited), while Casino Royale was written by Purvis, Wade and Paul Haggis – so even the good ones aren't solely the idea of one creator.
Rewrites don't always have to be a bad thing either, and it's definitely better for them to happen pre-filming. If he is working on the script, Burns has decent history when it comes to spy movies, writing the likes of The Bourne Ultimatum and Sundance 2019 hit The Report (sold to Amazon for $14 million).
However, it's hard not to feel anxious when reports of rewrites affect a Bond movie, given the recent history. Here's hoping that when Bond 25 does happen, it'll be more Skyfall than Spectre.
James Bond 25 is set for release on April 8, 2020. It's not clear yet whether it will have a traditional earlier release in the UK.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
