British screenwriter Steven Knight has reportedly been chosen to write the next James Bond film.
According to Deadline, Knight recently met with director Denis Villeneuve and secured the job after several other writers were considered. Villeneuve is currently working on the third Dune movie.
Knight, 65, is best known for co-creating the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and the hit crime series Peaky Blinders. His other TV work includes Taboo, A Thousand Blows, and The Veil, starring Elisabeth Moss.
On the big screen, Knight has written scripts for acclaimed films like Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things, Locke, and Spencer. He also wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller Serenity starring Matthew McConaughey, which was poorly received—The Guardian called it “magnificently terrible.”
His upcoming projects include the Peaky Blinders movie The Immortal Man and the Netflix period drama House of Guinness.
Speaking about The Immortal Man in 2023, Knight referenced James Bond, telling The Mirror: “The biggest difference between film and TV is budget. With TV, you often have to ask viewers to imagine things, but with film, you can really do it—you can blow stuff up. Will Tommy [Shelby] give James Bond a run for his money? Maybe. There are parallels. We always saw Peaky Blinders as cinematic, so now we finally have a screen big enough for what we want to do.”
While the next James Bond actor hasn’t been announced, reports in June suggested Tom Holland, Harris Dickinson, and Jacob Elordi were frontrunners. The news came after Villeneuve was confirmed as director. “I intend to honor the tradition and pave the way for many new missions,” he said in a statement. “It’s a huge responsibility, but also incredibly exciting and an honor.”
The 26th Bond film will follow No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s final outing, which grossed over $774 million worldwide. Earlier this year, Amazon MGM reportedly acquired the rights to the franchise in a $1 billion deal, gaining “creative control.”
This week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy mentioned the film during an earnings call, saying: “James Bond is in the hands of one of today’s greatest filmmakers. We can’t wait to start 007’s next adventure.”
