Sam Mendes Won’t Be Back For BOND 24

Like I said, I’m not a diehard James Bond fan, but I don’t care if you are. Despite rumors we heard last month that Sam Mendes was ‘75 per cent’ of the way back to helm another James Bond installment, he’s decided not to.

Speaking with Empire he explains his decision:

It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie. Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.

Let’s try to read between the lines. If so, does this mean we could be seeing Bond return in late 2014? Or the producers just learned that hiring a seasoned veteran, not a first-time director is vital to the success of Bond.

On the other hand, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli very courteously responded saying:

We thoroughly enjoyed working with Sam, he directed our most successful Bond movie ever, Skyfall. We would have loved to have made the next film with him but completely respect his decision to focus on other projects and hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with him again.

Meanwhile, John Logan is said to have thoughts for Bond 24 ‘in the form of two treatment papers outlining a rough idea of the plot.’

Who would you like to see as director of Daniel Craig‘s fourth James Bond movie?