Danny Boyle exits James Bond movie over ‘creative differences’

In an unforeseen move, Danny Boyle has exited Bond 25 due to creative differences.

“Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25,” the 007 Twitter account posted on Tuesday.

MGM and Annapurna Pictures had dated the film for Nov. 8, 2019, with Universal handling international rights. It is unknown whether Boyle’s exit will have any effect on the release date or production, which was expected to begin in December.

Universal was set to release the film in the UK on Oct. 25, 2019.

Sources tell Variety that Eon Productions and Boyle were in the early stages of casting the new Bond girl and villain prior to the December production start. Producers will now look to act quickly to find Boyle’s replacement.

Prior to Boyle’s hiring, Eon and MGM had looked at directors like David Mackenzie, Denis Villeneuve and “White Boy Rick” Yann Demange for the job, and it is unknown if producers would turn back to one them.

Variety first reported that Boyle was high on MGM’s list to direct the pic. He had long been in MGM and Eon’s sights to board a James Bond movie, dating back to 2012’s “Skyfall” and 2015’s “Spectre.”

Sam Mendes directed the previous two installments, which became the highest-grossing movies in the series, with “Skyfall” hauling in $1.1 billion globally and “Spectre” earning $880.7 million at the worldwide box office. Mendes said after the most recent Bond movie that he would not continue directing films in the 007 series.