Director Martin Campbell first entered the world of James Bond in the mid-1990s to helm Goldeneye, the first of Pierce Brosnan's outings as 007. A decade later, Campbell returned to the franchise for Casino Royale, which was not only Daniel Craig's first James Bond adventure, but also served as a reboot of the entire series. So far that marks the end of the director's James Bond contributions, but he is willing to return for a third movie on one condition: if he was working with another new James Bond.
CinemaBlend's own Eric Eisenberg recently sat down with Martin Campbell to talk about his upcoming movie The Foreigner, which reunited him with Pierce Brosnan. When asked if he would ever consider coming back to the James Bond franchise, Campbell expressed ambivalence at the idea given that many of these movies follow the same beats, but if a new actor was wearing the tuxedo and drinking the shaken martinis, that would pique his interest. Here's the full exchange:
Is it a world that you're interested in returning to?Martin Campbell: I don't know. I might be, so never say never. I didn't after Goldeneye. I don't know if it was sort of arrogance or whatever I don't know. I just sort of said no to it. I was pretty much offered every one after that. But I just felt that I was repeated it. Another control room to blow up; another nutcase taking over the world. And also there is something refreshing about starting a new Bond, and particularly with Pierce [Brosnan]. It was sort of a Cold War sort of situation then, and we had Judi Dench for the first time. So there was a kind of excitement to doing it.And Casino Royale too, reinventing with Daniel Craig.Martin Campbell: Casino Royale was the same thing. Much the same reasons, actually.So if they were to find a new Bond, that would primarily interest you?Martin Campbell: Yeah. I think Daniel is terrific. He's certainly 'for now,' do you know what I mean? First of all he's a terrific actor, but secondly he brings that sort of toughness and rough edge to Bond that is now so relevant.
Martin Campbell has certainly established himself as the man who is skilled at introducing new James Bonds, as both Goldeneye and Casino Royale were met with largely positive reviews. Considering that 2019's James Bond movie will be the last one to feature Daniel Craig, Campbell may soon find himself with an opportunity to launch yet another era of James Bond adventures. That's not the say that he'll accept the job if approached by whatever studio has James Bond at that point, but at least he's open to the prospect. No doubt whoever is hired as Craig's 007 successor will give Campbell a better idea on whether or not he wants to helm yet another crazy James Bond tale.
You can check out Martin Campbell's The Foreigner, which stars Jackie Chan alongside Pierce Brosnan, in theaters starting October 13. Don't forget to also look through our 2017 movie premiere guide to see what's being released for the remainder of the year.
