Director of “Spectre” wants a female director to direct the next “007” film

Last Updated on 09/29/2022 by てんしょく飯

Director Sam Mendes wants a female director to helm the next film in the “007” series, the 26th installment.

Who will be the lead actor and director of the 26th “007” film?

With Daniel Craig, the sixth James Bond, retiring after “007: No Time to Die,” there has been a lot of talk about who will be the seventh Bond actor, but director Sam Mendes seems to be focusing on the next director.

Mendes has directed “Skyfall,” the 50th anniversary film of the “007” series, and the follow-up “Spectre,” and “Skyfall” has been so well received that it has won many film awards. He would like to see a female director take the helm for the next installment of the “007” series, the 26th film. He spoke with Deadline.

The actors who play Bond are evolving. The directors need to evolve as well. I think it would be wonderful to see a woman direct Bond. It will be wonderful.”

The previous film, “No Time to Die,” was directed by an American, Carrie George Fukunaga, and the addition of female screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge to the writing team was a big deal.

Phoebe has won numerous awards for her dramas “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve,” especially since the latter is a thriller about the attack between MI5 officers and assassins, and she has also written for the “007” series and is familiar with that genre, making her an ideal choice.　Of course, there are many other female directors who excel in action, so there may be several candidates, but as Director Mendes said, it would be wonderful if a female director is appointed.

Incidentally, perhaps some might argue that since the “007” series is aimed at men, it should be directed by a male director. However, it is a selfish prejudice to say that the series is for men because it is a worldwide series and has continued for more than half a century and has many female fans. For example, in a 2018 THR survey of 2,201 U.S. respondents aged 18 and older, men outnumbered women when asked if they had seen “all” of the 007 series, but when asked if they had seen some of the films, 45% of men and 48% of women were almost evenly split. The percentage of men and women who answered “I have never seen any” was also almost the same at 5% and 6%, respectively.

Furthermore, is there any need to distinguish between male-oriented and female-oriented products? Even if the films are for men, it does not mean that female directors are not appropriate. Looking back on the history of film, it is a solid fact that “evolution is necessary” because female directors have been eliminated and male directors have been chosen even for films that are considered to be for women.