Director Sam Mendes helped give the James Bond franchise a much needed boost in Skyfall, which was released in 2012 to critical acclaim and it quickly became the highest grossing Bond movie. But after Spectre is released later this year, Mendes plans to step aside from Bond.

“I don’t think I could go down that road again,” said Mendes. “You do have to put everything else on hold.” Mendes added that he “said no to the last one and then ended up doing it, and was pilloried by all my friends. But I do think this is probably it.”

Mendes won an Academy Award for directing American Beauty, and he went on to helm Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, and Away We Go. But in the last half-decade, Mendes has only directed two films, both in the Bond franchise.

“It feels almost, even though we’ve just finished shooting it, like one big experience and it was a fantastic life-changing thing,” related Mendes. “It really is more a lifestyle choice than a job.”

Even with his pending exit from the franchise, Mendes still seems excited about Spectre. “This is a bigger movie than Skyfall,” noted Mendes. “It’s shot in more places – we were in Mexico City and Tangiers and northern Sahara and Rome and the Alps and London. It’s been an enormous undertaking.”

Mendes also teased the reveal of Spectre’s theme song by revealing that it has already been finished. “I can say that the song’s been recorded and it’s fantastic and I’m very excited about it,” gushed Mendes. “You won’t have to wait long.”

Spectre will be released on November 6, 2015.

Bond fans, which director should be the next person to chronicle 007’s adventures? Break out your gadgets and share your opinions in the comment section below!

HT: BBC News