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

Despite his incredibly brief feature film filmography, Rian Johnson is an extremely well respected film-maker. His 2005 film Brick, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lukas Haas, is something of a cult classic, and Looper was a mainstream critical and commercial success. Oh, and he's directing Star Wars Episode VIII.

There's a tangible grit to Brick that would merge well with the Bond series, but it's the skill with which Johnson handled the sci-fi Looper that would make him an interesting choice. Am I suggesting Bond should go science-fiction? No, but that doesn't mean the franchise mightn't benefit from expanding its horizons a little bit. In many ways 1979's Moonraker is one of the most daring Bond films to date because it has the audacity to head into space. And guess what? It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects and it was also at the time of release the highest grossing film in the series – audiences lapped it up.

When he's finished with Star Wars, it'd be cool to see Johnson step in and take the series in a bold new direction. Does that means it's time for Bond to leave earth again? Maybe. Or what if some insane, space-based weaponry was executed by a competent director? Perhaps it could wipe everyone's memory of Icarus from Die Another Day...

Regardless, Johnson proved through Looper that he could can couple genre elements like sci-fi with a plot that remains genuinely suspenseful, engaging and intriguing. Even with a bit of a sci-fi spin through the villain or his plan, Johnson would manage to keep the whole thing grounded and believable, just like he did with Looper, which also had frantic action to rival Bond itself.