Director San Mendes has confirmed that he’s not keen on helming any more Bond films after SPECTRE.
“I said no to the last one [SPECTRE] and then ended up doing it, and was pilloried by all my friends,” Mendes told the BBC. “But I do think this is probably it.”
Mendes explained that SPECTRE is a bigger movie than Skyfall, describing the globetrotting shoot as an “enormous undertaking.”
Mendes called the gig a “fantastic life-changing thing” but conceded he doubted he could do it again.
“You do have to put everything else on hold,” he said.
Mendes also revealed that the SPECTRE theme song was complete, although he naturally refused to divulge who had recorded it.
“I can say that the song’s been recorded and it’s fantastic and I’m very excited about it,” he said. “You won’t have to wait long.”
Despite Skyfall racking up over a billion dollars at the box office and becoming the highest-grossing Bond film to date Mendes was reluctant to return to direct SPECTRE due to plans to shoot the next two Bond films, 24 (SPECTRE) and Bond 25, back-to-back as a two-part story. Those plans were discarded and the next two Bond films will be stand-alone features.
Back in April 2013 Mendes claimed the thought of immediately going back to work on another Bond film for several more years made him “physically ill.”
Starring Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci, Dave Bautista, and Ralph Fiennes as M, SPECTRE will pit Bond against an enemy from his past and a sinister organisation known as SPECTRE – a shadowy group that previously played a prominent role in the early Bond films.
SPECTRE is slated to hit cinemas on October 26 in the UK and worldwide on November 6.