Original No Time to Die writer John Hodge addresses his exit from the James Bond movie as well as director and frequent collaborator Danny Boyle. The latest film in the long-running spy franchise marked Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as Ian Fleming's MI6 agent and sees him pitted against maniacal terrorist Lyutsifer Safin as he embarks on a revenge mission against the Spectre organization. Bond must team with CIA agent and friend Felix Leiter to stop Safin's plans before his efforts expand to worldwide disaster.
Alongside Craig, the cast for No Time to Die included Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Jeffrey Wright as Felix, Naomie Harris, Christoph Waltz, Ana de Armas, Rory Kinnear, Billy Magnussen and Ralph Fiennes. The new James Bond movie was helmed by True Detective and Beasts of No Nation's Cary Joji Fukunaga with a script he co-wrote with franchise vets Neal Purvis and Robert Wade and three-time Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge. No Time to Die hit theaters in September to largely positive reviews from critics and was a box office hit, grossing over $774 million against its estimated $301 million budget.
While speaking with The Guardian for his upcoming series The Ipcress Files, writer John Hodge reflected on his time as the original No Time to Die writer. Hodge believes that the studio actually wanted him off of the James Bond movie but that frequent collaborator Danny Boyle "took the bullet" for him and led to both of their exits. See what Hodge shared below:
"I think it was me they really wanted rid of, but Danny took the bullet, too. Just decent British discretion! My understanding was that that twist had been decided even before we came on board because Daniel Craig wanted it. I think, with us, it was that old cliche 'creative differences.' It felt very dramatic at the time but it was just another bump in the road of the Bond franchise."
Development on No Time to Die was a bumpy road when Sam Mendes, who helmed both Skyfall and Spectre, elected not to return for the film and other frontrunners Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve ruled themselves out due to their commitments on Tenet and Dune. Danny Boyle was brought on to direct in early 2018 with plans to scrap Purvis and Wade's original script and start over with Hodge writing a new draft, which was greenlit shortly thereafter and production eyed to begin in December 2018. The two would ultimately depart in August of that year due to creative differences over the vision of the film, with Fukunaga being tapped that September.
Hodge's comments on his and Danny Boyle's exit from No Time to Die do line up with the latter's previous discussions of the situation, with the Oscar winner having previously indicated the studio didn't agree with their riskier vision. Though Boyle and Hodge's departure was infamous at the time of its occurrence, the film ultimately escaped its development hell to conclude Craig's tenure as Bond in celebrated fashion. Audiences can pick up No Time to Die on digital platforms, 4K Ultra-HD, Blu-ray and DVD now.
Source: The Guardian
