The name’s Mendes, Sam Mendes. The Bond franchise has been ongoing for more than 60 years and 25 films, so it’s no surprise that there have been many repeat directors. But Sam Mendes was the first to helm multiple Bond films since the ‘80s (an era ruled by John Glen), guiding Daniel Craig through the 2010s. After Skyfall and Spectre, the torch was passed to Cary Joji Fukunaga. So will Sam Mendes go the Terence Young route, sitting one installment out and returning with thunder? Never say never…but probably not.

Speaking with Inverse, Sam Mendes credited the Bond films with coming at a crucial time in his career but doesn’t see it as a guarantee for his future. “Never say never, to quote the man, but I would doubt it. It was very good for me at that moment in my life. I felt like it shot me out of some old habits. It made me think on a bigger scale. It made me use different parts of my brain. You have to have a lot of energy.”

With that, the 59-year-old Sam Mendes thinks directing a Bond film is a young man’s game. “They want slightly more malleable people who are earlier in their career…who perhaps are going to use it as a stepping stone, and who are more controllable by the studio.”

Who the next Bond director will be is anybody’s guess. All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger has already dismissed supposed talks, while Christopher Nolan rumors have also been debunked. So, will the Bond team go for someone mainstream American audiences are more familiar with or someone off of their radar?

The James Bond franchise will obviously press on but, in addition to the giant question mark surrounding the director, there is still so much in the air, with the future of the character himself — or maybe even herself — undetermined. Who will play 007 and what direction will the studio go? Three years removed from No Time to Die and with no clear path, we’re possibly looking at at least three more before we see it on the big screen.

Do you think Sam Mendes should return for another James Bond film? Who else do you think should step into the job?

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