Danny Boyle Leading Candidate to Direct Next Bond Movie

Ever since it was officially announced that Daniel Craig would be returning for one final adventure as James Bond, speculation has been flying about who will step in to direct the film. Arrival director Denis Villeneuve was the studio's choice to helm the film, but he's gone off to do Dune. Christopher Nolan's name always gets floated, but he recently took himself out of the running, leaving them scrambling once again. Now another Oscar-winning Brit director is in serious talks to take the helm: Danny Boyle.

The great irony of Danny Boyle's career is that he won an Oscar for what is arguably his worst film, Slumdog Millionaire. The director's last two films—Steve Jobs and T2: Trainspotting—were among the best he's made despite being box office disappointments, so you could understand why he'd want to jump on board a guaranteed smash hit. Boyle's actually directed a Bond movie of sorts in 2012 when he coordinated the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, so he seems like a natural fit.

According to Variety, nothing is set in stone yet but the studio is eager to get a big name director attached to the project and Boyle fits the bill. He's also allegedly very keen to make the leap to a big budget action flick after years and years of films with mostly minuscule budgets. I think he's a great choice and I would love to see what he'd do with the franchise. We'll keep you up to date on the latest news as it comes in.