Steven Knight promises the next James Bond movie will be ‘the same but different’ – here’s what that might mean

Knight will pen the new 007 for director Denis Villeneuve

News By Tom Wardley published 1 August 2025

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon MGM Studios have announced who will pen the next Bond movie, and it’s a hugely exciting proposition.

With Denis Villeneuve already set to take the director’s chair, it’s been confirmed that the script will be written by Steven Knight, the man behind Peaky Blinders, A Thousand Blows, This Town and more.

A Knight-penned Bond adventure is massively exciting, although it's worth remembering that the film is still in the very early stages – in fact we’re still waiting on the announcement on who will be donning the tuxedo in the next Bond adventure following Daniel Craig’s retirement in No Time to Die.

Bond 26: The story so far

Even so, it’s great to see the franchise making positive moves forward following a tumultuous decade for 007. While Craig’s era got off to a good start with new adventures landing every few years, the departure of director Danny Boyle from the film that would go on to become No Time to Die, followed by a pandemic-induced release delay meant it was almost six years before Craig’s final mission landed in cinemas. Since then, Amazon purchased Bond’s parent studio MGM and quickly produced Road to a Million, a gameshow inspired by 007’s globe-trotting adventures.

Talk of a new film was few and far between though, with rumors surrounding cinematic universes and TV spin-offs quickly dispelled by long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. However, all that changed when in January of this year Broccoli announced that her and Wilson were stepping away from the franchise and handing full creative control to Amazon. While there was speculation that the pair had been ousted due to Amazon’s frustration with them dragging their feet on a new project, the official statement from Broccoli read: "With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects."

Following the pair’s departure, and after a few months of getting their Aston Martin in order, Amazon confirmed a 26th Bond film was starting pre-production, with Dune helmer Denis Villeneuve attached to direct and Amy Pascal set to produce alongside Harry Potter’s David Heyman.

What should we expect from Bond 26?

While we currently know nothing of what to expect from 007’s next mission, Knight’s appointment could potentially point toward a long-speculated return to the 1960s for the franchise, with the writer almost exclusively penning period pieces in recent years, with Knight’s rollicking WW2 action adventure SAS: Rogue Heroes of particular note to those wondering what his interpretation of Bond might look like.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors