New James Bond Writer Steven Knight Says Franchise’s Next Chapter Will Be ‘Better and Stronger and Bolder’: ‘I Can’t Wait to Get Started’

After Amazon MGM Studios revealed on Thursday that Steven Knight will write Denis Villeneuve‘s new James Bond film, the “Peaky Blinders” creator gave his first interview about the secretive project.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5’s “Live Breakfast” on Friday morning, Knight said being involved in a 007 film has “always been on my bucket list.”

“It’s fantastic to be invited to do it,” he added. “I can’t wait to get started.”

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Knight, whose credits also include the Pablo Larrain films “Spencer” and “Maria” as well as TV shows “See” and “SAS: Rogue Heroes,” said he was invited to a meeting with producer Amy Pascal but “didn’t know what it was about.”

“I very quickly discovered what it was about and became very excited and hopeful,” Knight told the BBC. “And then the process is … you do some meetings, you discuss some ideas and then you find out you’ve got it. I found out a while ago, but it was announced last night, which is great.”

Asked if he felt pressure to deliver on the new Bond film, which will be the first with Amazon in control of the franchise, Knight said: “I mean the way I look at it, you’ve just gotta do what you do, do it as well as you can and then what else can you do?”

He added, “I’m hoping that being a Bond fan for so many years, that will sort of be imbued into me and I’ll be able to produce something that’s the same but different and better and stronger and bolder.”

So does Knight know who the next Bond will be? “Very, very good question and one I can’t give you the answer to,” he said coyly.

Along with Pascal, David Heyman is on board to produce the new Bond film and Tanya Lapointe will executive produce. As Variety previously reported, the studio is eyeing a potential 2028 release for the film and actors at the top of their wishlist for the spy include Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson and Tom Holland.