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I was recently told on this very thread that Bond isn't an action hero anyway, so I guess we don't have to worry about it :)
I just don't think that's how it works. Eon don't release these films themselves, they are commissioned and make them for a large film studio. It's a bit like hiring someone to, say, make your wedding dress. The dressmaker doesn't decide that she feels like making a dress and that you should just get married when she's finished it- you decide that you're getting married, you fix a date when you need that dress, and you tell the dressmaker that's when you need it. The maker agrees to that schedule, having had experience of doing it before, and accepts the deadline date, even though they haven't started on the dress yet.
Well...
TND had a similar issue with the script. Apparently being written as shooting was going on.
You brought up scholars. I didn't. I don't assume that because they produce Bond films they know more about the literary Bond than avid (rabid) Bond fans.
Funnily, I love both films!
No, it's exactly how it works. The release date is never announced until EON agrees that it can be announced. If that weren't the case, the release date of BOND 26 would have been announced a long time ago.
James Bond VS Donkey Kong
Dollar by dollar. Brick by brick
Oh man, why argue with everything? You said “better than anyone else” - ‘anyone else’ includes literally everyone in the whole world, which includes scholars, tramps, presidents, dentists, onion sellers, strongmen, tinkers, tailors etc.
So yes, there will be some specific scholars who will know certain details they may not, but as a generality of ‘us’ as SIS put it, someone who was a baby on that beach in Dr No and has lived and worked with Fleming and the film 007 ever since probably has a deeper working knowledge of the subject than ‘we’ do. What SIS did not say was ‘anyone else’, as obviously there will be unusual exceptions, there always are.
Sure, they ‘agree’ it, just like the dressmaker does.
You can’t have a massive project like this without a schedule; it’s the same in all industries.
It’s worth saying as well that scripts can constantly change during the shooting process. QOS is a bit of an extraordinary situation with the writers strike, but as was said TND didn’t have a fully polished script into shooting, and that had been greenlit/had writers working on it since 1995, before GE had been released in fact! Dependent on the film it’s not unusual per se. Just look at the behind the scenes film for The Shining and there’s a moment when Jack Nicholson has to explain the colour coding for new scripts which come in each day/are constantly changing. There are plenty of stories of older Hollywood writers having to work into the night to write scenes for the next morning as well. It’s usually because the practicalities of shooting require adaptations to be made - ie. A location that was originally required fell through so a small chunk of set up/a sequence had to be changed. Can be a number of things. Even just from working on smaller short films, certainly nothing as big as Bond, I can say this is the case, and I personally have never seen a script that did not change in some way during the shoot. Like Bond even those films had deadlines, and certainly shooting dates that had to be kept to due to when locations were free, the availability of actors etc. Its no different with Bond, just that their productions are on a bigger scale.
Filmmaking on this scale isn’t easy, and as I said once something has been greenlit it has to be committed to. It’s just not something many, if any of us, truly know the realities of (I certainly don’t!) I know to us fans it might seem impractical/like EON have a ‘flawed’ system in place, but they’ve been able to deliver, often under extraordinarily difficult circumstances as of late. I think their current method for Bond 26 - that’s to say trying to map out the direction/script development stage before getting writers on board - is likely the best one.
Having a release date is having a schedule. And the studios need to make sure their investment isn't wasted by having a massive Star Wars film or something taking the same release date, so you've got to stake your pitch early. I'm sure there's other reasons too, probably to keep investors happy. As HallY says, there are complex reasons which we doubtless don't have full knowledge of, but they wouldn't be doing it unless they had to.
In practice, I don’t think it has to be one or the other really. There’s always going to be something in there that could be labelled as ‘subversive’ or a spin on what we’ve seen before (even GE had a good dose of that with its ‘sexist misogynist dinosaur’ lines, the way they reinterpreted the usual scenes with a new M/Moneypenny, and the whole post Cold War concept). But it will be a Bond film at the end of the day and EON do understand all the tropes and conventions of the series. They won’t set out to make a ‘typical’ Bond film, not even as a ‘palette cleanser’ (I mean, their job is to craft a new direction under a new lead, why would they bother aiming so low with such a concept going into a new film?) It would be quite boring otherwise and there’s so many iterations of the Bond formula anyway it’s kinda mute.
I don’t think Leitch is the man. He’s a safe pair of hands if you want polished action, but I think Bond can do better. As I said I just feel his films should be more interesting.
Just take a moment to consider Eon's past 18-months:
June 2022: BB and MGW honored with CBEs.
June 2022: BB and MGW honored with BFI fellowships.
Sept. 2022: BB and MGW honored with Pioneers of the Year award.
Sept. 2022: BB and MGW honored with Hollywood walk of fame stars.
Sept. 2022: Christie's hosts 007 60th Anniversary charity auction, exceeds expectations.
Nov. 2022: BB and MGW honored with Great Creative Britons award.
I would call that a "victory lap" after finally getting NTTD in theaters, as well as smart and necessary networking for the job these two do ... 2022 cemented them as authorities on Bond and British culture, which will likely help them get the money they'll want for the next movie, and likely attract the sort of talent they want to work with (not that they needed a boost, but a boost is a boost). These awards and honors show Eon will engage with talent on a creative level; it's not another Marvel movie, it's a family affair.
I think 2022 was fully a working year for Eon, in a PR capacity, to secure their positioning for whenever next production actually starts, and establish them as a creative and REWARDING team to work with.
We don't see them obviously gearing up for the next movie because that's not what they're actually preparing for; they are gearing up for the next decade+, charting a course for themselves and their business, and establishing the core relationships they'll need to make it possible.
So here's what I'm trying to say:
2021: Eon releases NTTD, manages post-release publicity of Craig departing role.
2022: Victory lap, establish you're still around after killing your Cash Cow, you're bigger than Daniel Craig (and Bond), make yourself look good, and start getting into position for what's next.
2023: Till awards season focus + WH screening; 007 TV Show; IO video game development, and off-books conversations about Bond 7 and Bond 26 begins in closed rooms.
Here's why I think that last part is already happening. It's nothing to do with existing outlet reports or rumors. Again, look at what's in front of us.
BB has been leading the 007RTAM publicity in the UK and US during it's launch, taking questions but remaining vague and jovial about the next era of Bond. She has nothing official to announce, but makes it clear that they are actively considering where to go next. She doesn't rule anything out—an indication that she's either interested in having ongoing conversations her comments could jeopardize, or is already having those conversations.
So what do these convos look like, do I think? Well we have the whiskey video released this week. In it, BB and MGW (and Eon's archivist) begin build up the world of Bond 7 through reaffirming existing partnerships: It's clear Macallan will continue it's partnership with Bond into the future, and I'm sure some sort of back-room assurances have been made to these sorts of business partners that a new project is coming soon to make them confident in their investments. We even get BB and MGW seeming doubling-down on the Bond-of-his-time conceit, in direct contrast to recent reports that Nolan is interested in back-dating Bond to a different time. So clearly BB and MGW have started making their minds up about Bond 7/26, even if it's the basics. That's still the starting point.
Another reaffirmed partnership: the 007RTAM NY premiere was in an Aston Martin studio, with interviews focused around the automaker's relationship to Bond. So it's probably safe to say Eon has already assured Aston that a new project is coming soon. Because of vehicle production schedules, Eon's standard operating procedure is to approach manufacturing partners as early as possible. A big merchandising deal was signed in 2017 (presumably planned ahead of a desired 2019 Bond release), probably around the time they realized they had Daniel back for B25 and could get moving on things again.
Daniel Craig, BB and MGW saw early designs of the DBS and gave feedback on them before the car was every known to the public, for example; Sam Mendes picked the DB10 from a selection of sketches years before the real-life Vantage ever came to market. I almost guarantee Marek Reichman already has had early conversations with Eon about what Bond will drive next, what it will be equipped with, and even an idea of how it will be used on screen, if it's anything involved with unannounced Aston product planning.
Finally, there's this nugget from a Jan. 2023 financial report, which everyone here either forgets about or missed completely: “Looking forward, the directors anticipate the group to display continued growth and profitability whilst concentrating on the development of its next film towards its production."
If you didn't read any of that:
BB and MGW are likely actively securing/courting commercial partners, and arranging the longer-scheduled supply line requirements for production's needs, like beginning chats with vehicle suppliers. These relationships can likely exist, in the early discussion stages, without anything to do with the film financing, hence no "official" public movement on the project yet. Think of it more as BB and MGW establishing what they know before tackling the unknown, nailing down the more nuanced side of ultimately marketing the next Bond.
But it's just a hopeful theory based on what I see. We are still likely months/years from preproduction and certainly a ways off from release.
Thanks. To me, it's obvious. Eon has no announced revenue coming in on any newly announced projects, but it is a business they have to manage in some way; I have figure in the interim, Eon gets by on merchandising and partnerships? A lot of this brand licensing and commercial partnership stuff is established early to fill the coffers, keep the lights on (and everybody coming to work), etc. and the exact arrangements are never issued in a press release because nobody really cares about the details, just what Bond drives, drinks, wears, and smells like etc.
The only other option could be a new marketing contract with Lazenby, Dalton, Brosnan, or Craig - how cool would that be? Hell, all three should be lifetime brand ambassadors by default, not that they should be forced to work, but it can't be that bad to make a few million, get free whiskey, and wax nostalgic every couple of years? I don't think they'd even have to return in-character, just be actor Tim Dalton drinking whiskey. Fearfully, they could do CGI/Deepfake dead Bonds, but have recently said they never will.