TheJames Bondfranchise is currently in a place of relative uncertainty.Daniel Craigmay or may not come back to do another movie, but Sony definitely wants him to. Even if he does, it has already been established that directorSam Mendes, who did bothSkyfallandSpectre, won’t be returning to the director’s chair forJames Bond 25. That means someone will have to fill those shoes andJohn WickdirectorChad Stahelskiwould be interested in taking the job.
I recently had the chance to speak withChad Stahelski, who directedLionsgate’sJohn Wickand the upcomingJohn Wick: Chapter 2. There are clearly some parallels between theJohn Wickfranchise and theJames Bondfranchise. When asked if he would be interested in directing aJames Bondmovie in the future, he seemed very interested, assuming the producers were interested in his take on it. Here is what he had to say about it.
“I’m interested in projects where you can world create. To jump back into somebody else’s world where it’s already been around for so long would be scary. But if there was one property, that wouldn’t be a bad one to try and invest yourself. Especially because of the ebb and flow of theBond universeright now, I think the timing is good for a slight reinvention with a different perspective shift.Bondhas gone from completely serious to totally cheeky to really fun again, to emotional, to serious, to internal, to external. I would love to give the pitch and if they got my wacky version of it, and it fit, yeah. That’s almost a dream too big.”
There are no franchises that can match that ofJames Bondin terms of longevity and ability to adapt from decade to decade. AsChad Stahelskipoints out, the franchise has gone through many different iterations, from the classic seriousness of theSean Conneryera to the silliness of theRoger Mooreera, all of the way up to the modern, grittyDaniel Craigtake on007. AssumingDaniel Craigdoes step down, and at best he will probably do one more movie, theJames Bond franchisewill once again be in a transition period. That could be the perfect time for a guy likeChad Stahelskito step in and change things up a bit.
Not only that, but anyone who has seenJohn Wickand once more people seeJohn Wick: Chapter 2, it will be very clear that there is almost nobody working today that can execute action likeChad Stahelskican. His years of working as a stuntman have served him well in that respect. Also,John Wickis more than just empty thrills. There is a lot of world building there as well. With a newJames Bond, there would be a need to rebuild that world a bit. Since the most recent movies have been pretty serious, doing a “wacky” version ofJames Bond, asChad Stahelskiput it, could be a nice change of pace.
At the immediate moment,Chad Stahelskiis attached to direct theHighlanderreboot, which is reportedly going to be a trilogy. And assumingJohn Wick: Chapter 2does well at the box office, there is a strong possibility thatJohn Wick 3could happen. Plus, there is talk of doing a prequel TV series. That being the case, he will probably be busy for a little while. However, ifDaniel Craigcomes back for one or two more movies,Chad Stahelskicould step in after that and be the guy to manage the transition when the next actor takes over as 007. As for who that could be,Tom Hiddleston,Idris Elba,Jamie Bell,Tom HardyandMichael Fassbenderhave all been rumored for the part, in addition to other, lesser known actors likeAiden Turner. Maybe the timing won’t work out and maybe he won’t make it onto Sony’s radar, butChad Stahelskiseems like a guy who could definitely make a greatJames Bond movieand perhaps most importantly, he’s interested in doing it.
