It’s now been more than two years since the biddings around the next James Bond movie officially started. After No Time to Die ran in theatres in the fall of 2021, co-producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson from EON Studios told the press that it would be a while before they start working on a new movie. Considering the amount of work that goes into these productions and the narrative ark of the character to be redefined following the tragic finale of Daniel Craig’s Bond, we have to keep ourselves occupied in the meantime. A fun game that fans like to play is to guess the next gentlemen actor to wear the tuxedo after Craig. However, too few articles discuss the right directors for the job. Who could take on this imposing task?

As EON and MGM are now under the banner of Amazon Studios, it is clear that there are significant administrative and creative powers at play here. An ideal director for the job has both talent and vision but is also ready to make creative sacrifices when asked to respect the studios’ rewrites on the script.

So, as we wait for more news, I thought it could be fun to recap the best and most obvious choices to direct the next film based on their cinematic flair and expertise in Hollywood (especially in an era where it is more and more difficult to make a significant box office profit). Most of the names here you’ll surely know from other rundowns, but some might come as a surprise!

*Apologies for having only one woman director in this rundown. I tried to remain realistic and choose directors in the industry that are already in the discussion, alongside a few personal choices. If more ideas come up along the way, I’ll be sure to add them in here.

1) Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Oppenheimer)

In recent discussions, Nolan’s name was probably the one that was on everyone’s lips. He is THE director of the moment, and amongst the most influential filmmakers to be able to bring crowds to the theatres again. He is undoubtedly the new “master” of spectacle cinema, mashing the perfect dose of action excitement with his dark creative vision. The movies he is known for are among the biggest contemporary masterpieces of the last 25 years, including The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010) and Dunkirk (2017). It goes without saying that Nolan has the credentials to direct a big-budget Bond film in the future, and it would be a crowd-pleaser for everyone. The Oscar nominee for Oppenheimer (2023) is also a known fan of the franchise, as he revealed that his favourite (and most emotional) is actually On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) with George Lazenby. The fans of 007 will surely notice the winks to the James Bond universe in Nolan movies, including the hospital at the top of a snowy mountain in Inception.

Now, what could be problematic for Chris Nolan is to work under the supervision of “hands-on” producers like Broccoli, Wilson, and now Amazon Studios. Having signed a distribution agreement with Warner Bros. for his latest films, there could be a significant administrative struggle to bring Nolan on board, and many creative differences could be at play. Nevertheless, he would be an excellent person for the job, and most probably the best.

2) Guy Ritchie (The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Gentlemen, Sherlock Holmes)

A well-known British filmmaker in the industry, Guy Ritchie’s movies are mostly well-written gangster films set in England, such as The Gentlemen (2020). However, in his most recent flicks, we see that Ritchie has an interest in the spy genre, having worked on films like The Man From U.N.C.L.E (2015), the movie that made actor Henry Cavill a much-discussed candidate to become the next Bond and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2022) and the upcoming Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Wrath of Man (2021) is among our favourite action movies of the last five years, so we know for sure that Ritchie can work with big action set pieces, but very serious scripts as well. He would be a great choice to make a particularly British Bond come back to life once again, dosing the appropriate amount of campiness and action. If he was around in the 70s and 80s, Ritchie would have been an ideal filmmaker to direct Roger Moore. Let’s see if he’ll enter the race.

3) Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, Dune)

A proud moment for me to put Denis Villeneuve on this list considering we are both French Canadians. What a joy it would be to have a native filmmaker from Montreal directing a future Bond film! Arguably, Villeneuve had an impressive rise in Hollywood in the last 10 years after unveiling Prisoners (2013) with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. With a visual style that is very much his own, Villeneuve directed success after success, also tackling with classics of science-fiction cinema and litterature, like Dune and Blade Runner 2049, in great fashion. Same for Nolan, he is both great with bigger budgets and for working under imposing studio banners like Warner Bros. Also, in the past, he confessed that it would be a dream come true for him to be chosen to direct a James Bond film. Already a strong contender, he is very high on our list of favourites!

4) Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Trance, 127 Hours)

The Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire (2008) has been in the discussion to direct a Bond film ever since the early days of the pre-production of No Time to Die. He was actually selected as a director at first before jumping ship due to the creative differences with the producers, making way for Cory Joji Fukunaga to sit in the chair instead for the twenty-fifth Bond film. We can only imagine Boyle still has an interesting vision for a Bond movie and it could still work. A talented filmmaker, he remains a great choice to helm the 26th film.

5) James Mangold (Logan, Ford v. Ferrari, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny)

This name has not yet circulated among fans, but I find James Mangold to be a director worthy of consideration. Like Villeneuve before him, Mangold also made a name for himself in the last ten years or so in big franchise movies. Before 20th Century Fox and the X-Men movies were purchased by Disney, Mangold directed possibly the best movie of the franchise with Logan (2017). Most recently, he directed the fifth and final movie in the Indiana Jones franchise, taking over from Steven Spielberg with The Dial of Destiny. Both these efforts confirm that he knows how to handle big franchises and expectations quite well (Marvel and Disney being the juggernauts they are). If Mangold is attached to the British spy as a character, he could make something great out of it.

6) Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit)

Possibly an odd choice for some, but Bigelow was always on my mental list of directors ever since I watched Zero Dark Thirty back in 2012. She has an incredible talent for warfare and political movies centered around the USA, which could be very interesting for a future Bond mission. Alongside the well-executed action scenes, there’s also a need for great intrigue and political tensions in the Bond universe, especially surrounding the main villain’s plot. To give a modern and realistic take to the next mission, a good writer paired with Bigelow could deliver on that narrative element as well. Also, probably on everyone’s mind, it would be a welcome sight to have a female filmmaker work on James Bond for once. If she’s ever interested, she should definitely enter the race!

7) Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Jack Reacher)

Chris McQuarrie appears in this list for different reasons than the others before him. Having only directed a total of five films to this day, his filmmaking is nonetheless highly impressive for one key reason: he directed the last three Mission: Impossible movies with Tom Cruise. The M:I franchise is an exception to the trend that sequel movies are most often lesser opus compared to the originals, and that’s mostly thanks to him. In other words, McQuarrie is an excellent action filmmaking, and perhaps one of the best working today. Hell…some of the biggest stunts in cinema, also thanks to Tom Cruise, are captured through his lens, so that’s saying something! If Amazon and EON do want to bring an additional dose of well-choreographed stunts and action set pieces in Bond, this director can 100% deliver. He can also work with a big budget and alongside “hands-on” producers like he did many times with Cruise and Paramount Studios.

8) Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan)

What if…just what if! Before we close this list, let’s have some fun and dream together. Surely it won’t happen for many reasons, but imagine this: a Steven Spielberg ‘Oscar-worthy’ James Bond adventure! Yes, it may be an impossible shot considering where Spielberg is in his career, but this legend was actually very much into James Bond in the early days; the character was one of the main inspirations behind the Indiana Jones franchise that he created with George Lucas. For similar reasons in the case for Christopher Nolan as a director, Spielberg is a force of nature in the filmmaking industry and would surely have too much power to work under the supervision of EON and Amazon. If he ever directs a movie that resembles a James Bond adventure, he would make it his own. Who knows…

And that’s our selection! Who do you think should direct the 26th James Bond film? Let us know in the comments or on our social channels!