2. Christopher Nolan
As one of the biggest directors in Hollywood that has seen his last three movies earn almost $3bn at the box office, Christopher Nolan pretty much has carte blanche to make any kind of movie he wants. Currently putting the finishing touches on hugely anticipated sci-fi Interstellar, it will be interesting to see what he tackles next. It may not be for a few years yet, but one day Nolan is almost certain to step behind the camera of the Bond franchise. A well-known fan of the franchise, Inception's globe-spanning locations (particularly the snow-top fortress set-piece), are as influenced by the Bond series as Skyfall is by Nolan's own Dark Knight. However, for such a talented filmmaker Nolan's action scenes are arguably the weakest part of his repertoire and the control he exerts over his movies from the script stage right through to post-production may sit uneasily with the studio-driven nature of the Bond movies. When Nolan does direct a Bond movie, the chances are the iconic spy himself will be recast at the same time, but it could very well mark both a creative and commercial high point for the franchise.