The 'Skyfall' screenwriter has worked closely with director Sam Mendes and actor Daniel Craig to get the first draft of the script done soon.
- Mar 6, 2014
AceShowbiz - John Logan, the "Skyfall" writer who returns to his post for "Bond 24", gives update on the upcoming installment. The scribe tells Empire magazine that a certain notorious organization that remained absent from the last movie might be included in this one.
"There might be!" the writer coyly replies when asked about matter. He says that, though James Bond films are not limited to Ian Fleming's stories, he always combs through the books and previous movies for inspirations because keeping a few nostalgic ties in each new film is important to win fans.
"Honestly, not being evasive, but the great thing about Bond is that I have fifty years of movies - 23 movies and all the Ian Fleming novels and short stories, all of which are fodder," he explains. "And when I'm working on the new Bond I'm constantly going back to Fleming and the other movies - what are the bits and pieces, what are the resonances?"
"One of the things we learned in 'Skyfall' is that the audience really enjoyed those, they enjoyed when they saw the Aston Martin, they enjoyed when we had references to things they grew up with, either from Ian Fleming or from the other movies, and that's always been a part of my thinking about Bond."
There have been rumors that supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE could appear in the next 007 installment. The reports emerged after the producers reached settlement with Kevin McClory's estate who owned the names to Blofeld and his evil organization. A longtime dispute had previously prevented the SPECTRE leader from appearing in the recent Bond films.
"Right now the first draft is almost done," Logan reveals. "I'm terrifically excited about it! I've been working very closely with Sam [Mendes], and it's been joyous to pick up from our work on 'Skyfall' and just continue on with the storytelling. The new movie continues the themes of 'Skyfall'. Some of the characters and themes that we began to introduce in 'Skyfall' will play out, I hope successfully, in the next movie."
Besides working closely with the director, he also got help from lead actor Daniel Craig. "Daniel's very involved. It behooves no-one to write a character that the lead actor doesn't want to play, so having worked so closely on 'Skyfall', I have my own sense of what I think Dan responds to, as does Sam, [and producers] Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson of course," he says.
The film is expected to begin filming in October this year. Craig is back as the 007 spy agent, and Ralph Fiennes reprises his role as James Bond's new boss after Judi Dench's M met her demise in the last movie. Naomie Harris (Eve Moneypenny) and Ben Whishaw (Q) are also expected to return for the sequel.
The film is planned to be released Stateside on November 6, 2015.
