Danny Boyle has said a film’s writers are as important as its leading stars for him.
The director, 62, was due to direct the next James Bond film, currently titled Bond 25, but announced his departure from the project last year, citing “creative differences”.
He told Radio Times: “I’m very script-driven. Writers are as important as the star of the film for me. And John (Hodge, his longtime collaborator) was doing a wonderful job. But the producers wanted to go in a different direction.
“It’s silly continuing on something like that – so complex and so huge, it would just cause unhappiness. So I wasn’t prepared to continue without John.”
American director Cary Joji Fukunaga was announced as the new director of Bond 25, which Daniel Craig has also said will be his last turn as the famous spy.
Boyle also recently told The Guardian he thinks Twilight star Robert Pattinson would be a good person to take over from Craig.
A statement on the official James Bond site at the time said: “Michael G Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct Bond 25.”
Best director Oscar winner Boyle has been promoting his latest film, Yesterday.
The full interview is in this week’s Radio Times