The upcoming ‘Bond 25’ (not called ‘Shatterhand’) now has Billy Magnussen in final talks to join the cast. He’s been the top choice to play the CIA operative that crosses paths with James Bond.
Magnussen was recently in New Line’s ‘Game Night,’ the CBS All Access series ‘Tell Me a Story,’ and Netflix’s ‘Velvet Buzzsaw.’ Next up, Guy Ritchie’s ‘Aladdin’ remake, releasing May 24th, and New Line’s ‘The Many Saints of Newark,’ releasing September 25, 2020. The latter, however, could cause the talks to collapse, due to scheduling conflicts. Both films will begin filming this April, with ‘Newark’ on the 3rd and ‘Bond’ on the 6th.
Moreover, Cary Joji Fukunaga (‘True Detective,’ ‘Maniac’) will be helming Daniel Craig’s last outing as the titular character. Danny Boyle was originally going to direct the film, but creative differences drove him away from the project. Thus, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade came back to finish what they started all the way back in ‘Casino Royale.’ Along with that film, they wrote all of Craig’s other ‘Bond’ movies: ‘Quantum of Solace,’ ‘Skyfall,’ and ‘Spectre.’ Fukunaga also had his own draft of the screenplay. However, Scott Z. Burns (‘The Bourne Ultimatum,’ ‘Contagion’) came onboard for rewrites.
Variety recently gave an update on the script:
“Fukunaga turned in his recent draft at the beginning of the year, and while reports surfaced that major rewrite work was done to the script [by Burns], sources say no significant changes were made, and the producers and Craig were excited with what Fukunaga had delivered.”
Returning cast members include Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw. Meanwhile, Rami Malek is in talks for the villain.
They’ll be shooting in Matera, Italy is for the prologue action sequence, while they’ll use Norway for a frozen lake before it thaws. The latter footage will be a part of the pre-credit scenes. Principal filming will take place in Jamaica and Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom.
‘Bond 25’ currently has a release date of April 8, 2020.
Source: Discussing Film