While the future of the franchise remains undetermined, original Oldboy director Park Chan-wook is throwing his hat in the ring to helm a new James Bond movie. Chan-wook rose to stardom with his work on what is now known as The Vengeance Trilogy, comprised of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, as well as the 2009 horror film Thirst and the 2016 psychological thriller The Handmaiden. The acclaimed South Korean filmmaker would make his English-language debut with 2013's Stoker before going on to help produce Bong Joon-ho's acclaimed Snowpiercer movie and direct and executive produce AMC and BBC One's The Little Drummer Girl miniseries.
The James Bond franchise has enjoyed 60 mostly successful years on screen since launching with the Sean Connery-led Dr. No and including seven different actors in the role. The most recent to don the 007 moniker was that of Daniel Craig, having carried the role through 15 years and five films, becoming the first to get a proper ending as No Time to Die killed off Craig's Bond with its explosive final act. With one year now past since his final chapter, audiences are starting to look to what the future may hold for the James Bond franchise, namely who should be its next star, but one director is eager to join the globe-trotting adventures.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Park Chan-wook opened up about how the James Bond franchise was a major influence on his filmmaking career. When asked if he would want to helm a film in the series, the Oldboy director expressed that it "would be fun," but noted audiences may not be as into his take on the franchise as he would. See what Chan-wook said below:
Yes, that would be fun. But I'm not sure if the people watching it would have as much fun as I would making the film. Those of you who've seen my latest film might find this hard to believe, but I think it all started with a Bond movie. I was in elementary school at the time. I think it was maybe Moonraker, but it was certainly a Roger Moore [one]. I got really into the film, and I had fun imagining different stories from it in my head when I was home by myself.
At that time, Korea was a military totalitarian society, so they didn't allow everyone, or they only allowed particular people, to be able to travel outside the country. Which is, I think, why I particularly enjoyed imagining myself in an exotic place, interacting with different races of people and going on fun adventures. So those crazy traps and weapons made with special technology and effects and the ingenious ways in order to escape from them, I had very detailed, imaginative stories in my head of how that would happen. It went into so much detail that I also imagined the placement of the camera or the movement of the camera filming those situations. And I think that was my first storyboard in my head, even though I didn't draw them out.
Why Oldboy's Park Chan-wook Is Perfect For James Bond
Though his typical genres may not connect to the long-running movie series, Chan-wook's adoration for the James Bond franchise would make him perfect to helm a new movie for it at some point in the future. His highlighting of Roger Moore's Moonraker as a memorable one for him may divide some fans of the series, given Moore's tenure as James Bond was met with largely mixed reviews. However, given the Oldboy director is better known for his darker sense of humor and works in the psychological thriller genre, it seems unlikely Chan-wook would turn to the campy nature of the Moore Bond films should he get his hands on the property.
Another key reason Chan-wook would be perfect to direct a new James Bond movie is his keen sense for directing stylish, yet grounded, action sequences. Oldboy's hallway scene continues to be one of the most iconic scenes nearly a decade later, having served as the inspiration for everything from a fight in Daredevil season 1 to the recent action beat-em-up video game, Sifu. While audiences await word on who will be the next to helm a James Bond movie, they can catch up with the most recent chapter, No Time to Die, streaming on Prime Video now.
Source: Deadline