Bond 25: 8 Potential Directors (And Where They Should Take The Series Next)

8. Guy Ritchie

This might be a bit of a bold choice, but with his recent work directing The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Ritchie has proven he can helm a suave, sophisticated spy piece, even if it does have a little extra flair and flamboyance.

Still, one of the best things about that film was how fantastically it evoked the 1960s. What if Ritchie was to take a similar approach with Bond? If anything, Spectre proved that trying to tie multiple Bond films into a single narrative is a rather fruitless and clunky endeavour, so why not return to the world of standalone stories? Speaking of which, what if – like George Lazenby in 1969 – someone was to play Bond for just one film?

A Bond film modelled as a “classic” set in the sixties or seventies and starring a one-time Bond would certainly be striking, and coupled with Ritchie's unique, stylish flair it could transcend being nothing but a boring retread. One of the things Ritchie is great at, too, is combining crime with humour. Whereas Bond jokes generally rely on witty quips, Ritchie's comedy is much more visual and physical in nature, which would be an interesting fit for a Bond film. Ritchie could give fans a Bond film that knowingly harks back to the past, a film that trades gritty and "real" for campy and enjoyable.

Ritchie's action scenes are also much more visual than Bond is typically used to: you've only to recall the likes of the forest scene from the second Sherlock film, a breath-taking blend of slow motion and grimy close-ups. Can you imagine that kind of visceral film-making applied to a Bond film?