Image via Getty/Anita Bugge
No sooner had the news broken on Tuesday that director Danny Boyle would be exiting the project known as “James Bond 25,” than speculation began as to who should step in as the new 007 helmer. This fresh wave of speculation adds fire to the always simmering debate of who should take over for the man himself.
While many critics and fans have wildly varying visions when it comes to who should become the new captain of the Bond franchise, almost everyone agrees it is time for a change. While there is something timeless about the well-manicured spy who is never short of a perfect line, there is something stilted about James Bond as he exists in the public imagination today. What, in the early Bond films was considered “debonair,” can feel creepy and even abusive in hindsight. When viewed through a lens of modern expectations of diversity, James Bond is blindingly white. In short, James Bond’s tuxedo feels a little stuffy.
It is time for a change, and here are some directors we believe could usher the classy “shaken, not stirred” action of Bond into a new era, with an inventive take on an well-worn classic.
Ryan Coogler
The meteoric rise of Ryan Coogler is hard to wrap your head around. Though the man only has eight directing credits on IMDB, he is already in position to become the greatest action director of his generation if he wants to. Black Panther and Creed contrast sharply, yet both represent heights of cinematic achievement in their particular subgenre. Coogler has shown he can do gritty realism as well as he can do Afrofuturism. He can do masculine intimacy as readily as he can do world-shaking stakes. Characters like Erik Killmonger from Black Panther show that Coogler has a keen ability to retain the kind of deep humanity he presented in his first feature effort, Fruitvale Station, even as his budgets inflate to blockbuster levels.
Cary Fukunaga
After his work on the first season of True Detective made him a household name, it looked like Cary Fukunaga was ready to breakthrough to the A-list. The problem is that the breakthrough project hasn’t materialized. First Beasts of No Nation fell short at the Oscars, despite a stunning performance from Idris Elba, thanks in part to Netflix’s policy against theatrical releases. Then Fukunaga exited IT over creative differences, missing out on box office glory, even if the finished film was an imperfect effort.
At first glance, Bond may not seem like Fukunaga’s cup of tea, he gravitates towards weird projects like True Detective and the forthcoming pharmaceutical trial fever dream show Maniac. A little weirdness might be the kind of thing the Bond needs to regain its cultural cache. Some of the best Bond villains have been some of the strangest, like Goldfinger and Blofeld.
And of course, if the long-simmering rumor that Idris Elba could play Bond were to come true, it’s hard to imagine a better candidate to bring Idris to the Bond role.
Michelle MacLaren
Michelle MacLaren might be the most accomplished action director to have never made a feature film. MacLaren has several film projects in development, and her transition to features is a foregone conclusion; if you’ve ever watched one of her directorial efforts, it’s easy to see why. Even if you don’t know her name, you’ve probably seen her work. Some of the best episodes Game of Thrones, like “Second Sons” (Tyrion and Sansa’s wedding) and “Oathkeeper,” (the aftermath of Joffrey’s wedding) and classic Breaking Bad episodes like “To'hajiilee” (the standoff in the desert before “Ozymandias”) and “4 Days Out” (Walter and Jesse cook in the desert) were helmed by MacLaren.
MacLaren has a variety of action-packed credits on shows as varied as Westworld, The Leftovers, and The Walking Dead. Every time she directs an episode of television she leaves her unique mark on the show, building exciting scenes by shooting from obstructed views and placing the camera in ways that evoke perspective in brilliant ways.
Though a Bond film would mark MacLaren’s entrance into the feature world, she is more than ready, having logged more hours behind than camera than many feature directors enjoy in their entire career. Few directors have tackled the variety of action stories with the creativity and vision of Michelle MacLaren.
Steve McQueen
A couple years ago, you wouldn’t have been able to imagine Steve McQueen as an action director. His early features were critically acclaimed, prestige projects meant to compete on the festival circuit rather than at the box office. Hunger, Shame, and 12 Years A Slave are as accomplished and artful a trio of films as any director has made.
McQueen is switching gears this summer with a film that may change the course of his career. Judging by the trailer, Widows, starring Viola Davis, will play like a gritty, violent twist on wronged-women-get-revenge story often seen in lighter films like Ocean’s 13 and First Wives Club. If Widows lives up to the festival buzz, the film could establish McQueen as the kind of refined action director that would be a natural fit for James Bond.
Kathryn Bigelow
While she has been best known for modern-day war films in recent years, finding critical acclaim and popular glory with both Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker, Bigelow has had a varied career filled with many different types of action-packed films. She did Russian nuclear intrigue with K-19: The Widowmaker. She tackled police psychodrama with Blue Steel. And legendarily, she pioneered the surf heist drama with Point Break.
Bigelow’s sheer command of action filmmaking makes her the perfect pick for Bond or any other franchise that requires gunplay and pulse-pounding suspense. She has proven she can do pretty much anything, and that means she could take Bond places he has never been before.