Reinaldo Marcus Green Open to Directing James Bond, but ‘Let’s See If Idris Wants to Do It’

After helming Oscar-winning Serena and Venus Williams’ family biopic “King Richard,” director Reinaldo Marcus Green is ready to take on an IP franchise: James Bond.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter discussing his HBO series “We Own This City,” Green said he’s “definitely open” to directing a Bond film.

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“I want to go into that direction,” Green said. “I want to be able to add value to a new Bond. I grew up watching popcorn movies, so if I could add a little something to it, that would be cool.”

The Daniel Craig era of the famed MI6 spy adventure concluded with 2021’s “No Time to Die,” which saw Bond perish in the Faroe Islands at the hands of super-villain Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek).

Green added to THR, “Let’s see if Idris [Elba] wants to do it. I think [‘We Own This City’ and ‘The Wire’ writers] Dave [Simon] and George [Pelecanos] could call Idris and see what we could do.”

Elba rose to fame stateside in HBO’s critically acclaimed series “The Wire,” playing Baltimore drug kingpin Stringer Bell. Green is now helming the similarly Baltimore-set police series “We Own This City” from the same creator, writers, and producers as “The Wire.”

Bond producer Barbara Broccoli revealed in December 2021 that the Bond franchise will continue with another British male star of any ethnicity or race. Elba is a rumored frontrunner to take over the Bond role, and Broccoli has called Elba a “magnificent actor” and confirmed he has been “part of the conversation” for casting. Yet no decision has been made as of print.

“I think we have decided that until ‘No Time to Die’ has had its run, and Daniel has been able to…Well, we’ve all been able to savor, reap the benefits of Daniel’s wonderful tenure, we’re not going to think about, or talk about, anybody else, actors to play the role, or storylines, or anything really,” Broccoli formerly said on a Deadline podcast. “We just want to live in the moment.”

The Bond franchise has recently spurred reality competition series “007’s Road to a Million” for Amazon, which purchased Bond studio MGM in an $8.5 billion deal.

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