From what we have heard from various people involved with Bond 23 such as Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and writer Peter Morgan, it seems the plan is to begin pre-production in February with a late 2010/early 2011 filming start. However MGM (the lion studio) didn’t have a very good 2009 money-wise and are in the process of selling themselves, with takeover bids expected over the upcoming weeks. This is obviously impacting the studios future line-up, which includes Bond 23.
Longtime Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli recently gave Total Film an update on the status of the film, and they said they don’t have a solid timeline set for the next Bond instalment.
Asked what the current status of the project is, Wilson said: “Well, our timeline’s a little up in the air what with the situation at MGM, so we have to be flexible. We just don’t know enough about the situation to comment, but we know it’s uncertain.”
“Well… we’ve hired the writers and we’ve been working with them but it’s just too early to say anything,” he said. “You know, often at this stage, I find myself saying, ‘Oh, we’re gonna do this and that’, then six months from now you’ll say, ‘That isn’t in the film at all – you told me it was…’ I think we’re at the stage where a lot of ideas are floating around that sound very good, but whether they make the final cut, who knows?”
Hopefully MGM get a good buyer in the near future so they can start making concrete plans for Bond 23. Their first plan should be to find a director!
