Skyfall director Sam Mendes has confirmed that he won’t return for Bond 24. During an interview with Empire the director claimed that it was a “very difficult decision” but his theatre commitments needed his “complete focus over the next year and beyond”.
Here’s what the director had to say:
“It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie,” explained Mendes. “Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.”
It’s a shame that Mendes won’t be returning for another instalment of Bond, but this could also be seen as a blessing in disguise. The huge success of Skyfall was unexpected, and now Mendes has raised the bar so high that replicating that success would be an extremely tough task. This is now an opportunity for the producers to avoid complacency and maintain the freshness of the reinvigorated franchise.
Skyfall was a global phenomenon in 2012 and grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the second highest grossing movie of the year and the biggest Bond movie ever.
Daniel Craig will return as 007 for several more films but now the focus will shift towards who will be in line to direct Bond 24.
