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Danny Boyle to direct 25th James Bond film

Danny Boyle - Reuters
Danny Boyle - Reuters

Trainspotting director Danny Boyle has won the battle to direct the 25th James Bond film, the official franchise has announced. 

Boyle had previously suggested he was hopeful of winning a place in the 007 director's chair, after announcing that he and long-term writing partner John Hodge had been working on a script for the forthcoming film, which will see Daniel Craig return as James Bond.

The pair have been nurturing plans for a Bond film for a number of years. Craig and Boyle even bonded while the actor was taking on an extra job as the character – appearing in a brief skit with Queen Elizabeth II during the Olympics Opening Ceremony. The burgeoning friendship between director and star inspired Hodge and Boyle to devise a Bond screenplay. 

Studio MGM and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson caught wind of Boyle's idea, and liked it enough for Hodge to make his Bond screenplay presentable, industry presses reported in February. 

Boyle, however, has hardly been keeping his new assignment top secret: he let on that he and Hodge were working on a new Bond story in a red carpet interview in March.

The director, who made his name creating cult hits such as Shallow Grave and zombie horror film 28 Days Later before winning Oscar recognition for Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, has also hinted that his Bond could be more progressive than its predecessors. Boyle said he would be writing the script "in real time", suggesting feminism and #MeToo culture may have an influence on the script. "You acknowledge the legacy of the world [of Bond] and you write in the world – but you also write in the modern world as well," Boyle told a New York audience in March.

Production is set to begin on December 3, with the film expected to be released next year.