‘It would have been very timely now!’: Danny Boyle reveals his canceled James Bond film was shot in Russia before producers ‘lost’ faith in his vision
Danny Boyle has announced that he plans to shoot his now-cancelled James Bond film in Russia.
The director was set to helm Daniel Craig’s final performance as 007 before leaving the project due to “creative differences” with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
Speaking to Esquire UK, the 65-year-old Oscar winner said his proposed story takes place in the now disputed country and explores Bond’s origins.
Conflict: Danny Boyle told Esquire UK in a recent interview how he planned to shoot his now-cancelled James Bond film in Russia
He said, “I remember thinking, ‘Am I really supposed to get involved in franchises?’ Because that’s really all they want.
“They want you to freshen it up a bit but not really challenge it, and we wanted to do something different with it.
“Oddly – it would have been very relevant now – it all took place in Russia, which of course Bond was from, from the Cold War.”
Axed: The director was set to helm Daniel Craig’s final performance as 007 before leaving the project due to creative differences with the producers
The director of Slumdog Millionaire went on to tell the outlet how he thinks it’s a “shame” he can’t direct a Bond film and claimed there is a loss of “confidence” in his plot idea.
He said: “It’s set in Russia today and it goes back to its origins and they just lost, how do you say it… they just lost faith in it. It was really a shame.’
This comes after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, which has killed more than 3,000 civilians, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In August 2018, it was confirmed that Danny had quit directing the 25th Bond film.
A tweet from the official 007 Twitter account read: “Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig announced today that Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25 due to creative differences.”
Cary Fukunaga later took Danny’s place and directed Daniel in the 2021 film No Time to Die.
Years later, he told The Guardian that he had left the film: “I work with writers and I’m not ready to break it up.
“We worked very, very well, but they (the Bond bosses) didn’t want to go down that path with us. So we decided to split up.”
End of the Road: In August 2018, it was confirmed that Danny had quit directing the 25th Bond film and Cary Fukunaga (pictured) took his place, directing Daniel in No Time to Die