Danny Boyle hinted that his own fandom drove him from 'Bond 25'

Danny Boyle (Credit: Rex)
Danny Boyle (Credit: Rex)

Danny Boyle hinted that his own love of the world of 007 could have been the thing that drove him from making Bond 25.

In a telling interview, now published but given to the Radio Times five days before the announcement he was to quit the movie, Boyle spoke about the problem of being a Bond ‘aficionado’.

“The books were everything to me when I was a kid. I read them multiple times,” he said.

“Like everyone else, I saw the films, but I’d already read the books so I had a different relationship with the characters.

“Although I think it’d be impossible for a Bond aficionado to write or direct a Bond film. You’d be hampered by how much you knew. They want you to bring a freshness to it.”

Given that the interview happen just days ahead of the announcement, it’s likely that Boyle already knew he was off the project.

Or at the very least, the Trainspotting director was expressing his own doubts, having described himself as an aficionado, and then explaining that an aficionado directing a Bond movie would be ‘impossible’.

(Credit: MGM/Eon)
(Credit: MGM/Eon)

The announcement of Boyle quitting the 25th Bond film came just weeks ahead of cameras rolling.

Producers Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and star Daniel Craig released a joint statement last month, reading: “Michael G Wilson, Barbara Broccoli [producers] and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25.”

Rumours have since emerged that Boyle clashed with Craig over the casting of the movie’s villain, with Boyle keen to cast 41-year-old Polish actor Tomasz Kot.

Other talk suggested that the movie’s plot, penned by longtime Boyle collaborator John Hodge, had become an issue, while other rumours suggest Boyle walked because he refused to kill off 007 at the end of the movie.

Whatever the reason, it’s now almost certain that the movie will miss its planned release date of October 2019.

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