Licence to kill 007 caused Danny Boyle’s exit from Bond franchise

A ‘ridiculous’ killer ending Daniel Craig wanted for the latest James Bond may have led Danny Boyle to leave the franchise.

Danny Boyle fell out with Daniel Craig over the direction the James Bond franchise should go.

Forget James Bond’s licence to kill, it was the possibility of the spy’s death that may have led to the director Danny Boyle walking out on the franchise.

The acclaimed British filmmaker had been due to direct the 25th Bond film but last week it was announced that he had left due to “creative differences”. His departure prompted speculation that he had fallen out with Daniel Craig, who plays Bond, over the director’s wish to cast a little-known Polish actor, Tomasz Kot, as the main villain.

Others suggested that producers were uncomfortable with Boyle’s desire to include topical references to issues such as Russian influence on western politics and the #MeToo movement.

Now a new possible explanation has emerged. Yesterday it was reported that Boyle had locked horns with Barbara Broccoli, one of the film’s producers, and Craig over their suggestion that Bond should die in the film to create a “spectacular finale”.

Boyle apparently dismissed the idea as “ridiculous”. “There were discussions about killing off Bond in dramatic fashion at the end,” a source told The Sun on Sunday. “It would also leave it open for a twist in the next instalment — either Bond hadn’t died or there could be a Doctor Who-esque regeneration with a new actor.”

The next Bond film had been scheduled for release in Britain in October 2019 but there have been conflicting reports about whether it will make the deadline. Boyle wrote the script with John Hodge, a co-writer of Trainspotting. Hodge has also left the project and it is unclear if producers will revert to an earlier version by two writers who scripted Skyfall.

The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the film would be pushed back to 2020 but this was challenged by a report in Deadline that indicated the film remained on schedule.

The Times