In a perfect world, every director would be able to say they’re a fan of the movies they’ve made. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case -- but luckily, it is for Sam Mendes. The director recently admitted that he’s super stoked to see the next James Bond film, even though he had nothing to do with it.
Between 2012 and 2015, Sam Mendes directed two films for the legendary franchise -- Daniel Craig's Skyfall and Spectre. In 2016, he announced that he wouldn’t be returning to the franchise, and he’s since moved onto other projects, like his upcoming World War I drama, 1917. But there’s clearly no bad blood between the director and the James Bond crew. In an exclusive conversation with CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast, Sam Mendes made it clear that he’s just as excited to see No Time to Die as anyone else:
Am I going to be able to enjoy it? Absolutely, yeah yeah. No, totally. I think doing this movie [1917] -- I think if I hadn't done another movie it would be weird. Not that I wanted to do it, but it would seem very odd that there I was. But I'd gone so far into another world, you know, and so immersed in it, that to me it just seems like, I can't wait [for No Time to Die]. I'll be there at the premiere. It's my friends. I'm proud of a lot of them and I cast a lot of them. I look at the trailer -- there's Léa Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw -- I cast all of them. It's a little bit like my bunch. So I feel possessive and very supportive of them. So yeah, I'm certainly going to be able to enjoy it.
Even though Sam Mendes clearly has some connections within the James Bond world, he didn’t try to get a sneak peek of the latest installment. He told ReelBlend that he’s looking forward to seeing No Time to Die without any spoilers or insider information:
No, I don't want to know. I want to be completely a virgin when it comes to this movie.
Sam Mendes seems eager to transition from James Bond director to fan, and we can’t really blame him. While his tenure with the franchise proved to be very successful, it’s easy to see how it would be stressful to hold the legacy of one of the most iconic characters of all times in your directorial hands. And the director will likely get his wish when it comes to going into the latest Bond installment blind. His successor, Cary Joji Fukunaga, has been pretty tight lipped about how No Time to Die will play out. The film hits theaters in the United States on April 8, 2020.
