The big question of ‘What’s next for James Bond?’ remains but one beloved director has ruled himself out of returning to the franchise.
Sam Mendes, 59, revitalised 007 in 2012 with Skyfall, one of the franchise’s most popular and enduring instalments.
He returned in 2015 with follow-up Spectre – another box office hit which broke the record for the UK’s highest first-week opening set by 2004’s Prisoner of Azkaban.
It has been three years since Daniel Craig exited and despite Bond being left for (presumably) dead, there is growing speculation over who will be the next 007.
While names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Richard Madden are in the running, the 1917 director has declared he has no plans be involved.
‘Never say never, to quote the man, but I would doubt it,’ Mendes, who worked with Craig before in Road to Perdition, told Inverse.
He continued: ‘It was very good for me at that moment in my life. I felt like it shot me out of some old habits. It made me think on a bigger scale. It made me use different parts of my brain. You have to have a lot of energy.’
The Oscar-winning director is currently working on a satirical project, called The Franchise, which pokes fun at these behemoth studios.
Primarily aimed at Marvel and DC Comics with their superhero multiverses, he noted that big studios often want someone earlier in their career at the helm.
This means the project can be moulded to fit the existing vision, rather than a director bringing their own stamp to the film.
Mendes believes this could play into whether or not he is called back for Bond 26, given he is a well-established director with multiple accolades to his name.
‘They want slightly more malleable people who are earlier in their career,’ he explained. ‘Who perhaps are going to use it as a stepping stone, and who are more controllable by the studio.‘
The American Beauty director has been vocal in the past about not enjoying the ‘pressure’ of creating Bond films, a sentiment shared by Craig.
In 2022, he told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘These movies are very difficult to write. Those 10 months of downtime, that’s when the script really turned around, because we had the time to go down blind alleys and try things like the [Bond/Silva team-up]. And that time was not afforded to me when we made Spectre.
‘You can see the difference in the script. [With Spectre], I felt there was some pressure. Certainly, Barbara and Michael exerted some pressure on me and Daniel to make the next one, so that makes a big difference. People saying: “We want you to do it,” and passionately wooing me to do it, was a big thing.’
However, he also hinted he wouldn’t return after Skyfall, stating he had put everything into the blockbuster and would need a compelling reason to make another.
Mendes had confirmed to Empire in 2013 that he turned down an offer to return as he was working on stage adaptations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and King Lear.
Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli reportedly paused production to enable him to return for Spectre.
The Hamnet director is the first person since legendary Bond director John Glen to be at the helm of two consecutive 007 films.
Glen, 92, directed the most movies in the franchise to date with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and Moonraker (1979) plus all five films made in the 80s to his name.