James Bond 25: Barbara Broccoli reveals enlisting Killing Eve writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge was Daniel Craig's idea and dismisses having a female 007 as a 'gimmick'
- The film is expected to released on April 8 2020
The first details of the eagerly anticipated 25th James Bond film were announced on Thursday, confirming the cast and crew of the explosive flick.
And James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has revealed Daniel Craig suggested enlisting Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the screenplay and dismissed the idea of a female 007 in a candid interview screening on Good Morning Britain.
Staging the big reveal at Goldeneye - Bond creator Ian Fleming's estate on Oracabessa bay on the northern coastline of Jamaica, Barbara said Daniel, 51, was a big fan of the Fleabag writer's work.
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Coming soon: James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has revealed Daniel Craig suggested enlisting Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the screenplay (above with fellow producer Michael G. Wilson)
New venture: Phoebe, 33, has won critical acclaim for creating and starring in comedy-drama Fleabag and for writing and producing global hit, Killing Eve
Barbara said of Phoebe, who came on-board to re-write the screenplay: 'It was Daniel's idea, we all leapt to it, we loved her. She has made a great contribution to it.'
Phoebe, 33, has won critical acclaim for creating and starring in comedy-drama Fleabag and for writing and producing global hit, Killing Eve.
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The screenplay is also written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Scott Z. Burns with director Cary Cary Joji Fukunaga.
The film - scheduled for release on April 8, 2020 - is slated to be hunky Daniel's fifth and final film in the franchise, with speculation rife over who will step into the Secret Service agent's suit.
Licence to thrill: Staging the big reveal at Goldeneye - Bond creator Ian Fleming's estate on Oracabessa bay on the northern coastline of Jamaica, Barbara said Daniel, 51, was a big fan of the Fleabag writer's work
Success story: The screenplay is also written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Scott Z. Burns with director Cary Cary Joji Fukunaga
However Barbara dismissed rumours a woman may become the next 007, saying it would be a 'gimmick.'
She said: 'I always feel that Bond is a male character, that is just a fact. We have to make movies about women and women's stories but we have to create female characters and not just for a gimmick turn a male character into a woman.'
Hunky Daniel also refused to confirm whether Bond 25, would be his final film, having previously starred in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015)
He said: 'Yes, it's my last one. Apparently it is. I don't know [what I will miss yet]. I am not thinking about the end.
'I am thinking about right now. I have got a movie to make and that is all that matters. I can't start thinking about what is going to happen in the next couple of years. We all just want to make the best movie we can.'
Final? Hunky Daniel also refused to confirm whether Bond 25, would be his final film, having previously starred in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015)
Ladies man: Daniel was joined by (L-R) returning cast member Léa Seydoux (Dr Madeleine Swann), and new Bond Girl Ana de Armas who will play Paloma, Naomie Harris (Eve Moneypenny) and second new Bond Girl Lashana Lynch)
According to the show's Ross King, Barbara is intent on tempting Daniel back for another film.
He said: 'Barbara, when I was asking her about it [being Daniel's final Bond film], she said, "I'm in complete denial" and she is a very powerful lady, as we all know.
'Maybe don't count out the fact that he might come back for just one more.'
When Today Extra's entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins asked if Bond 25 was 'definitely it' for Daniel, the star smiled before replying: 'Maybe'.
He then quietly added: 'Yeah, no it is.'
Oscar winner and Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek, who will play the villain in Bond 25, also spoke from New York, where he is filming the final season of Mr Robot.
He said: 'Ultimately villains are so great in Ian Fleming's novels. You go back to that instinctually, [you] go back to those books and decipher what makes them worthy adversaries for Bond.
Shaken, not stirred: Oscar winner Rami Malek is taking on the role of the suave Secret Service agent's latest nemesis
Winning team: Lea, Daniel, Ana, Naomie and Lashana joined Michael G Wilson, Cary Fukunaga and Barbara Broccoli at the photocall
Setting pulses racing: Daniel kicked off his Bond journey with a bang back in 2006, with the release of Casino Royale
'I am still working on that to be quite honest, but I have no doubt I am going to give him a run for his money.'
Earlier in the day Rami said: 'I promise you all I will be making sure Mr. Bond does not have an easy ride of it in this, his 25th outing.'
Also joining the cast are Dali Benssalah, Lashana Lynch, Ana De Armas as Paloma, David Dencik and Billy Magnussen.
Ralph Fiennes (M), Léa Seydoux (Dr Madeleine Swann), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Bill Tanner) and Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter) will all return for Bond 25.
In Bond 25, the agent has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica but his peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix from the CIA turns up asking for help.
New guard: Dali Benssalah and Jeffrey Wright are confirmed for the newest chapter in the Bond franchise, with Wright returning as Felix Leiter
Coming soon: Spanish-Cuban actress Ana De Armas is the newest Bond girl Paloma
Line-up: Into The Woods actor Billy Magnussen, 34, and British actress and Captain Marvel star Lashana Lynch, 31, will star
The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Cary Cary Joji Fukunaga stepped in as director when original director Danny Boyle dropped out over 'creative differences'. It was reported that Oscar-winning director Danny wanted to kill off the iconic agent.
Bond 25 has reportedly been operating under the working title Shatterhand, a reference to the original Ian Fleming novels where Bond and his nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, first appeared.
Blofeld used the alias Dr Guntram Shatterhand in the 1964 novel You Only Live Twice, which follows Bond to Japan where he finds his arch- enemy living under that name, hinting at the setting and basis of the new film.
Newcomer: Danish-Swedish actor David Dencik also joins the cast
Returning: Ben Whishaw (Q) and Ralph Fiennes (M) will return for Bond 25
Last month filming got underway on Bond 25 in Nittedal, Norway, where a mysterious, theatrically masked gunman was seen stumbling in pursuit of a terrified young girl as she fled across the ice.
In Spectre, Bond was last seen driving into the sunset with sultry psychologist Swann after apprehending perennial nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
The film, which divided critics, delved into his past as he traced the origins of a mysterious ring, only to discover it belongs to a global terrorist organisation led by childhood friend Franz Oberhauser - the son of Bond's legal guardian.
Originally thought dead, Oberhauser, played by Christoph Waltz, had instead masterminded the criminal group under the alias of Blofeld - his mother's maiden name - with the objective of killing Bond.
Earlier this month Layer Cake star Daniel became the longest-serving Bond in history
Bond's true love? Léa Seydoux returns as Dr Madeleine Swann for the film
