Now that MGM have bitten the bullet and filed for bankruptcy, their attention is shifting to what they wish to crack on with, once they emerge out of the other side of that process.
Obviously the Bond franchise constitutes one of their most important and valuable properties and not only will they wish to capitalise on the renewed popularity and success of the franchise following the Casino Royale reboot, they also will want to avoid the spectre of having to reboot again if there is too much more delay in getting the next entry made.
News therefore comes, via HitFix, that MGM are planning to have a new Bond film on the big screen by November 2012, with a further entry every two years after that. That sort of release date would require going before the cameras by no later than the middle of next year, however quite a lot of the groundwork for the next Bond film is believed to have been laid by writer Peter Morgan (The Queen) and director Sam Mendes, who were both on board before MGM’s financial woes put everything on hold.
Whether Morgan, Mendes and Daniel Craig for that matter are still going to be interested and available we do not know. Perhaps MGM’s plan is to move forward as quickly as possible to avoid the giving the impression to the potential creative talent that they are signing up for endless delays. What is also missing at this stage is confirmation from EON Productions that they are happy to move forward.
Financially, MGM are hoping to find a collaborating partner who will foot the production bill for Bond 23 in exchange for half of the returns, but with MGM then reverting to being the sole producer for future Bond films.
This is all still quite a mess at the moment and although MGM’s haste may smack of desperation, a new Bond film with Craig, Mendes and Morgan all on board sounds thoroughly appealing. As always, more news as we get it.
