Hollywood Director Denis Villeneuve, who was a frontrunner to direct the upcoming Bond movie, has revealed that he could not commit to the movie as he has projects lined up.
According to the Independent, the helmer of 'Blade Runner 2049' has noted that he indeed was approached for 'Bond 25' to replace outgoing director Sam Mendes, who made 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre'.
In an interview given to a leading entertainment website, Villeneuve said, "I said to Barbara [Broccoli], I would love to work with you and with Daniel, but I'm engaged. I will love to do it, honestly. I'm a spoiled filmmaker right now. I think Daniel Craig is a fantastic actor and I would like to, but several months ago I came for 'Dune' and I engaged myself. I committed myself and I'm someone that doesn't step back."
The director shared that he always commits to one project at a time and he did the same when he had to helm 'Blade Runner 2049', while he was busy with 'Arrival'.
"I remember I committed to do 'Enemy', they came with 'Prisoners'. I said, I need to do 'Enemy' first, and I had to break to bend the schedule. I did the same with 'Arrival' and 'Blade Runner 2049'. I did 'Blade Runner', one of my conditions was that I would have time to do Arrival first. Once I commit, I commit," noted Villeneuve.
The 'Prisoners' helmer ultimately chose the upcoming remake of David Lynch's 'Dune' over Bond, but insists a 007 movie is a "fantasy" of his that he hopes to realise at a later date.
He explained, "When Legendary offered me to do 'Dune', on a silver plate? Which was like my dream project that I'm dreaming to do for 30 years? I said yes right away. I want to honor that. It doesn't mean the movie will happen, maybe in six months the movie will - and Bond is an old fantasy of mine, but I can't be in two places at the same time. It's a strange year because I would love to do a James Bond. I need to focus."
'Bond 25' still has no director. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan is now considered to be a frontrunner for helming the project.