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Hi - I ended last month's newsletter by predicting that we'd have a press conference revealing details about Bond 25 on 1st March. 

Well... it didn't quite pan out that way!

I'll take a look at the latest Bond 25 news and cover why that press conference hasn't happened yet. I'll also make a new prediction - if I do it often enough I'm bound to hit bullseye eventually ;)

If you prefer to listen to the latest Bond news then head over to iTunes. There you can listen to The James Bond Dossier Monthly News Podcast.
Click here for the podcast

But first the sad news of Albert Finney's death.

The highly regarded actor, who played Kincade in Skyfall, died after a short illness at the age of 82. While many Bond fans know him as the gamekeeper in Daniel Craig’s third Bond film, Finney’ s career spanned several decades. 

Next, Javier Trujillo reviews issue 2 of Dynamite’s new comic book series.

007 and Oddjob cross paths again in pursuit of the Russian smuggler with the mysterious case! Who will gain the upper hand? 
 

Bond 25 news

And now on to Bond 25 and the press conference that didn't happen. 

Back in May Danny Boyle was confirmed to direct a screenplay written by long term collaborator John Hodge. Filming was due to start on 3rd December 2018 for a 25th October 2019 release. 

Then in August, as things seemed to be progressing nicely, Boyle abruptly quit "due to creative differences".  Maybe we'll learn the real reasons for his departure at some point, but I doubt whether it's the reason being touted by the press.

Then in September the producers announced they had a new director, Cary Joji Fukunaga. Filming would start on 4th March with a Valentine's Day 2020 release.

So, when I sent out the February newsletter it seemed likely to me Eon would do the customary press launch the prior Friday.

But soon after sending it Linus Sandgren revealed shooting wouldn't start until April with a 14th February 2020 release.

Based on that information many Bond fans celebrated Valentine's Day by sharing fan art on social media. Finally Bond 25 was "only" a year away! 

Eon burst that bubble late the following day though. A short announcement revealed that Bond 25 will be released on 8th April 2020.

And then we learned from the website of the Film Distributors' Association that the UK release is currently scheduled for 3rd April. Expect the premiere to take place at the end of March if that date sticks.

OK, that's it as far as dates and and delays. Luckily we've got more Bond 25 news...

The return of United Artists, casting rumours and pre-production

First of all is the announcement that the United Artists brand has been revived.

MGM and Annapurna issued a press release announcing that they are to revive the United Artists name. The move comes as they expand their existing US theatrical distribution joint venture and means Bond 25 will be the first 007 film released under the United Artists banner since the 1990s.

After the announcement that Bond 25 will be delayed again it has now emerged that Eon have hired a script doctor reworking Bond 25 prior to shooting. Scott Z Burns is one of Hollywood's top script doctors and reworking Bond 25 prior to production starting in April.

Daily Mail columnist Baz Bamigboye says that Barbara Broccoli and Cary Joji Fukunaga want to sign Lupita Nyong’o for Bond 25. Bamigboye is well connected and over the years has been proved consistently right about the more recent Bond films, but there are now reports that she is unavailable for filming.

Also, Oscar winner Rami Malek is strongly tipped to play Bond 25's villain. Collider is reporting that the actor, who recently won an Oscar for his performance as Freddy Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, is in final negotiations to play the villain. 

Finally, back in January we reported how a Norwegian company, Truenorth Norway, had been awarded a grant of nearly €5 million by the Norwegian Film Institute for production services on Bond 25. A few days ago reports surfaced that a house was being constructed for Bond 25 in Hakadal, which lies in the municipality of Nittedal. Those reports now appear to have been confirmed after a local website saw a filming application submitted on behalf of B25 Limited.

David Leigh
The James Bond Dossier

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