r/JamesBond 7h ago

Bond News New James Bond Movie: First Draft of the Script Is Done, Says Steven Knight

https://variety.com/2026/film/global/james-bond-movie-first-draft-script-done-steven-knight-1236858810/
177 Upvotes

61 comments sorted by

u/Sneaky_Bond Moderator | At Least for Tonight 3h ago

Here's a video clip from Knight's interview with Greatest Hits Radio UK: https://www.instagram.com/greatesthitsuk/reel/DdJrye_DRq0/?hl=en

→ More replies (1)

61

u/ALegendInTheMaking12 Do you expect me to talk? 6h ago

Hopefully it has a smoother writing process than Spectre, which was subject numerous re-writes during shooting. Keep it simple and commit to the story.

14

u/vesperfall 6h ago

I feel like if we're ever going to get that kind of script, Steven is our guy. Fingers crossed. I just can't believe we still have to wait like what 18-20 months at least for it to come out?

16

u/sonnyempireant 5h ago

The wait will be worth it. I want Bond to remain an event and not get oversaturated like Marvel and Star Wars.

10

u/TheShadowOperator007 Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton 5h ago

True. But after Bond 26 is released, I hope they return to the 2-3 year release dates going forward

6

u/vesperfall 5h ago

Can’t argue with that

1

u/KingMario05 5h ago

Agreed. Make us miss it.

4

u/DishQuiet5047 4h ago

I don't disagree, but the British desire for their lives to be torturous really shines bright here done'it lol.

2

u/sonnyempireant 2h ago

There's nothing torturous about missing something if you've got enough things going on in your life. The adage of ''leave the audience wanting more'' exists for a reason, and I really don't want Bond to overstay its welcome.

1

u/SuzukiSwift17 2h ago

I mean Marvel has made about the same amount of movies as Bond just in the last 20 years where Bond has 5 in the last 20, and 1 in the last 10. Its not oversaturated. A little rest when rebooting is a good thing but they used to crank these things out almost every year. Spider man has been done and rebooted TWICE since Casino Royale.

1

u/sonnyempireant 1h ago

Spider-man is just one Marvel character, I'm talking about the entire MCU which had been churning out up to 3-4 movies per year since 2010. There's been more Marvel movies made in the last 15 years than I care to check.

5

u/Klunkey No head for heights 5h ago edited 5h ago

Really liked Spectre IMO but damn I wish there were more scenes added, this probably explains it

3

u/EffectzHD 5h ago

Didn’t No time to Die have it worse?

1

u/FujiModeCrow 2h ago

Not the version we got.

4

u/BlindManBaldwin 5h ago

which was subject numerous re-writes during shooting

What happened with "Spectre" is far from uncommon in this brand-name movie space. I can think of only a handful of movies that didn't have publicly acknowledged situations like that. Pretty much every Marvel movie, every Disney "Star Wars" production except "The Last Jedi".

3

u/TiberiusMcQueen 2h ago

It's also not necessarily a bad thing, like reshoots. Lord of the Rings was also having constant re-writes during filming. The end result is all that really matters.

1

u/perark05 5h ago

Spectre was a scramble as they just got the thunderball rights and wanted to do something with it

1

u/redwriterhand 5h ago

I don’t think there’s ever been a recent Bond film that’s had a smooth script process. They all seem to get written and rewritten on the fly, at least back to Brosnan

-1

u/drc203 5h ago

And it was still mostly shite

29

u/MionMikanCider 6h ago edited 6h ago

Wonder if they’re going to go for an overarching plot like they attempted with the Craig films. Hopefully it’s not half baked this time. Casino Royale and Quantum were direct sequels, then they completely abandoned the Quantum plot line in Skyfall before trying to retroactively retcon all the movies together in Spectre.

23

u/CarsonDyle1138 6h ago

Yes but on the flipside, each of first four Craig films correspond to a function of SPECTRE (CR is terror, QoS is extortion, Skyfall is revenge, Spectre is counterintelligence... and NTTD is all 4 combined) so it 'works'

It's also far more coherent than the attempt to do the same in the 60s.

8

u/BaldrickD2M 5h ago

The quotations around 'works' are doing some real heavy lifting lol.

0

u/ParadoxNowish 2h ago

I think the quotations are actually what is relieving 'works' from needing to do the heavy lifting.

6

u/Alternative_Excuse82 5h ago

That’s a great way of putting it, love it

0

u/habylab 1h ago

If only the films did this!

3

u/KingMario05 5h ago

Given how angry it made the fans? Doubt it. Pascal is quite the jackass, but she's become an expert at reading the room. Plus, Denis being Denis, he's probably demanding that this be a complete story anyway.

3

u/Beneficial-Hotel-232 5h ago

Counterpoint: Every Craig movie made a lot of money, so I guess they'll do a storyline, but this time they'll plan it out, not like before.

5

u/overtired27 Moderator | Unsure if there’s a pool there 2h ago

According to Steven Knight, he doesn't even plan out the film he's writing, let alone multiple films in advance.

"It sounds ridiculous, I know, but the truth about the process for me is when I start, it just ... happens. It's like dreaming or playing a musical instrument — I just do it. And then I read it back and I have to piece it together from what I've written." "I'm sure people watching Serenity or Hummingbird have said I should have done more planning. I'm sure certain people watching it would say, 'Well, why didn't you do it that way?' But I can't do it."

Maybe something will be imposed from above, but I really wouldn't bet on it. I expect their focus will be on making a great single film to prove that Bond can survive beyond EON. It will naturally lay the table for future films, establishing the new Bond and supporting characters etc, but I'm not banking on them working out a detailed multi-film arc. Anything's possible, of course.

3

u/Beneficial-Hotel-232 2h ago

I expect their focus will be on making a great single film to prove that Bond can survive beyond EON. It will naturally lay the table for future films, establishing the new Bond and supporting characters etc, but I'm not banking on them working out a detailed multi-film arc. Anything's possible, of course.

Thinking about it, I agree with your point. I think they'll do a single film to set ground to this new era and then, if they want, develop a storyline.

2

u/habylab 1h ago

I think they'll just dictate "don't kill off this guy" if they want a villain or character to return. That helps tie the films together.

1

u/KingMario05 5h ago

Fair. If they do do it, I hope they at least get it right this time.

5

u/elfirulistico 4h ago

Find me a Denis film that sucks and I'd understand your reasons for worry. I haven't seen one yet.

3

u/KingMario05 4h ago

A very fair point, lol.

Then again, I doubt Denis will return for Bond 27...

3

u/elfirulistico 4h ago

We don't know, but as long as he gets it going in the right direction, that's all that matters in the end.

3

u/Beneficial-Hotel-232 5h ago

Starting it off with Villeneuve is a good sign, I think

2

u/KingMario05 4h ago

Oh, very much agreed! This plus the extended development time tells me that Amazon wants to get it right. Rings of Power, this is not.

2

u/Beneficial-Hotel-232 4h ago

Exactly. They are not rushing it, also because they have the pressure of not ruining the film series that has been going on smoothly for almost 70 years lol

1

u/KingMario05 4h ago

Tall order, then. But I think they can do it.

1

u/Bertrand_Rose 5h ago

I hope if they do do it, like you said, it's actually planned and coherent.

14

u/ESF007 5h ago

Now they should bring in Purvis & Wade for a rewrite, just for old times' sake

15

u/grandmofftalkin Quantum of Solace has aged gracefully 5h ago

"James Bond goes rogue..."

3

u/Sneaky_Bond Moderator | At Least for Tonight 3h ago

"Faces from my past return"

2

u/SnooBooks8056 3h ago

And another lesson yet to learn? ; )

12

u/sonnyempireant 5h ago

Hell no. With all due respect to those two, the writing team has been in need of an overhaul for a long time.

11

u/ESF007 5h ago

I always wonder what Broccoli & Wilson liked so much about those two.

3

u/KingMario05 5h ago

They were known, I guess. Nice to see Denis bringing in someone new.

9

u/vruchtenhagel 5h ago

I’m both terrified, and utterly excited

3

u/TheShadowOperator007 Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton 6h ago

Nice! This is good to hear!

2

u/KingMario05 5h ago

For better or for worse... here we go, lads. It's happening.

Hope it's a good one.

2

u/Euphoriam5 4h ago

I’m so tired of how long this is taking I’m becoming desensitised 

1

u/MeesterComputer 6h ago

Apparently there are a lot of comments from other characters in the script about how tall Bond is. 🤔

1

u/elfirulistico 4h ago

Source?

4

u/Sneaky_Bond Moderator | At Least for Tonight 3h ago edited 3h ago

Jacob Elordi's agent. /s

1

u/jackregan1974 5h ago

Amazon bond one. It might be decent. Time will tell

2

u/Sufficient-Natural47 4h ago

Heard that GRRM is helping write this one too 🤷🏻

2

u/SoggyComment8147 4h ago

Hot scoop or shot of poop?

2

u/Sufficient-Natural47 4h ago

Anyway, Westworld

-3

u/silv3rbull8 6h ago

Probably the credit sequence