The movie world needs things to be certain, because any kind of uncertainly breeds rampant speculation. The James Bond franchise is currently waaaaaay uncertain, so naturally people are freaking out. With Daniel Craig turning down an Aston Martin-load of money to return to the role, and his Skyfall and Spectre director Sam Mendes also out of the next film, pondering abounds. It seems very likely now that Tom Hiddleston will be putting on 007’s dinner jacket, and according to a new report, his director for The Night Manager, Susanne Bier, is evidently in the running to captain the ship.
The Radio Times has apparently spoken to a source close to EON Productions, the company that produces all of the James Bond movies, and were told that Bier is among the “handful” of names on producer Barbara Broccoli’s shortlist to take on the franchise. Nerdist has reached out to Bier’s publicist for comment but at time of publication has not received a reply.
The six-part miniseries The Night Manager in many ways could be viewed as an audition piece for Bier and Hiddleston: a slick, sexy, taut espionage thriller–based on the novel by acclaimed spy writer John le Carre–set in gorgeous locations. And if Hiddleston is in the running, it would make perfect sense that the director of his most Bond-like endeavor would at the very least be considered to do it on the big screen.
Bier has directed several movies in her career, including the Danish film Brothers and the acclaimed drama Things We Lost in the Fire. She’s yet to do any sort of major action movie, but Mendes had not before Skyfall, to be fair, nor had Marc Forster before Quantum of Solace.
In the 54 years of the 007 franchise, there have been 24 films directed by a total of 11 men. At a time when women directors are underrepresented and female directors who get to helm blockbusters are even rarer, for Bier to be on the shortlist–and have a very good chance of actually doing it–is a huge step in the right direction. For such a massive franchise to break that stupid, unspoken barrier, it can only lead to other massive properties–like Marvel, for instance–to follow suit.
We’ll keep you in the loop on any further news on the future of Bond direction, but let us know what you think about Susanne Bier taking on the franchise in the comments below!
The cast of The Night Manager tell us their spy aliases.
Image: BBC/AMC
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and a confirmed Bond aficionado. Follow him on Twitter!
