Edward Berger to Direct Next James Bond?

After Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Danny Boyle, and Matthew Vaughn, there’s a new name circulating around town.

The latest name being tossed around is Edward Berger who might be in contention to direct the next James Bond movie, which is still a few years away. The earliest we’d be getting this 007 reboot is in 2027.

After some discussions with Nolan, producer Barbara Broccoli seems to have given up on the idea of hiring him to helm the next Bond. Broccoli tends to be very controlling when it comes to the creative direction of her franchise. Nolan, on the other hand, wants total freedom and he’s stated, very publicly, that he’d need carte blanche, from the casting to the story, to jump onboard the franchise.

As for Villeneuve, although he’s stated that it would be a dream of his to direct Bond, he’s been piling up so many projects that I doubt there’d even be room in his head to think about 007 at the moment.

Berger’s WWI epic “All Quiet on the Western Front” was well-liked by the Academy, it garnered nine Oscar nominations and won four statuettes, including Best International Film. It also became a big hit on Netflix, audiences loved the film.

Before he broke out with that Oscar behemoth, Berger directed 2014’s “Jack” and 2019’s underseen “All My Loving,” which THR reviewed as having “as much teeth and personality as a gummy bear.” There are also a few barely reviewed German films that he made, including the peculiarly titled 2001 dramedy “Female2 Seeks Happy End.”

However, Berger’s career seems to be on the rise as his upcoming “Conclave” has been getting good buzz and might even make a splash at this year’s fall fests. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. He’s also about to shoot “The Ballad of a Small Player,” starring Colin Farrell, for Netflix.