James Bond 25 is set to shoot under the working title Shatterhand. Following the acclaim that greeted 2012’s Skyfall, hopes were high the next entry Spectre could live up to its predecessor. The film reunited Daniel Craig with director Sam Mendes, with Dave Bautista and Christoph Waltz recruited for villain duties. Sadly, the movie proved to be a letdown, which was partly the result of the production being rushed to meet a release date. The movie revealed Waltz was playing iconic villain Blofeld, and in addition to retconning him to be the mastermind behind the events of Craig’s previous adventures, it also revealed he and Bond were once adopted brothers.
Many critics and fans found this turn nonsensical, and the movie ended on a note suggesting it could be Craig’s final time playing the part. Craig later signed on for a final time, and he appears to be creatively involved with making his last outing something special. Daniel Boyle was briefly attached to James Bond 25 but left following creative disagreements, with reports suggesting he and Craig clashed over the casting of the villain. Cary Fukunaga is currently sitting in the director’s chair, with the movie’s release date recently pushed back to April 2020 after Scott Z. Burns was hired to perform extensive rewrites.
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The development process on James Bond 25 has been very public and eventful, but barring any more issues, the film is set to start filming this April. Now a new report from Production Weekly (via The Guardian) reveals the movie will shoot under the working title Shatterhand. Curiously enough, this was the rumored title of the movie back in 2017, with reports at the time suggesting it was an adaptation of the 2001 Bond novel Never Dream Of Dying by Raymond Benson.
Shatterhand is also an alias used by series villain Blofeld in the novel You Only Live Twice. Previous reports on the Shatterhand script suggest Bond would be going up against a blind supervillain, but given the unresolved rivalry between Bond and Blofeld from Spectre, perhaps the next installment will merge Blofield will the villain from the Never Dream Of Dying novel. Curiously, Waltz has denied he will play Blofeld again, claiming that even though he’d like to, it's series tradition a new actor play the part in the next entry.
Whatever James Bond 25 ends up being titled, hopefully, it will bring Craig’s era to a suitable close. Casino Royale and Skyfall are considered two of the best installments of the franchise, but Quantum Of Solace and Spectre are also considered two of the most disappointing. It might be a very permanent end for Craig’s Bond too, with rumors suggesting another bone of contention between Boyle and Craig was the latter insisting the character die at the end of the script. That certainly would be a shocking end for a James Bond movie, but that report is unconfirmed for now.
More: James Bond 25: Everything You Need To Know
Source: Production Weekly (via The Guardian)
