British screenwriter Steven Knight, best known for creating the hit crime series Peaky Blinders, has been hired to write the next James Bond film. According to Deadline, Knight recently met with director Denis Villeneuve and secured the role after several other writers were considered. Villeneuve is currently filming the third Dune instalment.
Knight told the BBC: “It has always been on my bucket list and it’s fantastic to be invited to do it – I can’t wait to get started. I’m hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that’s the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.” He declined to comment on who might succeed Daniel Craig as 007.
The 65-year-old writer co-created the gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and created Peaky Blinders. His other TV credits include Taboo, A Thousand Blows and The Veil. On film, he wrote Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things, Locke and Spencer, and wrote and directed Serenity, which received negative reviews.
Upcoming projects include the Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man and the period drama series House of Guinness for Netflix. In 2023, Knight told the Mirror that the film would allow for more explosive action, noting parallels with Bond.
Villeneuve, director of Dune and Arrival, has been officially attached. “I intend to honour the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come,” he said. The 26th Bond film will follow No Time to Die, which grossed over $774m globally. Amazon MGM recently gained creative control of the franchise in a reported $1bn deal.
