Now that James Bond is going to be directed by a genius like Denis Villeneuve, he joins a long list of top directors like Sam Mendes, Cary Joji Fukunaga or Martin Campbell, who have managed to create a 25-film franchise (or 27, depending on who you ask) always with a certain level of quality. However, there’s someone who only just missed out on Bond… and it would’ve been a fabulous decision.
Grass. Green Grass
The director of three Jason Bourne films, Paul Greengrass, who has also made films like United 93, Captain Phillips or Green Zone, could have been the man to direct 007… but it didn’t sit right with him because, after all, he was still Bourne’s rival. “They asked me after The Bourne Supremacy, but I never really thought about doing it”.
“I have immense admiration and a lot of respect for what Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson have done with the franchise. And Daniel Craig was a fantastic James Bond”, he clarified, but then explaining why: “It’s a bit like if you play for Manchester United, you can’t sign for Manchester City. It wouldn’t be right. You feel loyalty. I feel it”. And that’s despite the fact he hasn’t gone back to Bourne, much as the fans have asked him to.
That said, although we haven’t had any Bourne news in years (even if Matt Damon wants to resurrect him), Greengrass wants to see him again: “I hope they bring him back. I don’t know if they will, I think they’re still trying”. The one who’s sure to come back is James Bond, although we still don’t have a face for him. Either way, Tomorrow Never Dies.
