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Greetings Bond fan, I hope you're doing well!

There's a lot of noise on the internet at the moment about Bond 26, and specifically about speculation that Christopher Nolan will helm 2 films. But, as so often in cases like this, there's not much substance to the "story" at all. 



And don't forget Global James Bond Day is on Thursday! It's been celebrated every year since 2012 on 5th October, to coincide with the premiere of Dr No in 1962. Make sure you pour yourself a Vesper or a vodka martini, or do something else Bond related, to celebrate.

But before we get on to Christopher Nolan or anything else related to Bond 26, you may remember I mentioned in the previous newsletter how I got off to a good start in September, when I had to stop working out due to foot pain caused by plantar fasciitis.

I'd been following Simon Waterson's 10 Week Intelligent Fitness Challenge (available from Amazon UK and Amazon.com). He's Daniel Craig's personal trainer if you're not familiar with his name and bulked him up for Casino Royale.






Anyway, I made it to week 5 when I suddenly had difficulty walking. It looked like it would take several months of recovery, during which time I needed to do various foot stretches. However, after a few weeks it has resolved itself. I'd like to thank the readers who suggested exercises to help.

But, I'm still not back to training yet!

Last week I underwent surgery, which will take 3 or 4 weeks to recover from. It's minor, nothing to worry about, so I thought I'd be out of hospital and back to my normal pace of life. Not so fast though!

It turns out that anaesthetic followed by being sliced open then stitched up takes its toll, so I'm having to take it easy for a while. Who knew?!

I've also mentioned how my Facebook account was hacked at the end of July. It has caused so much grief I can't tell you and while I eventually managed to regain control of my personal FB account, my page for The James Bond Dossier is no longer under my control. I'm working on getting it back, but Facebook does not make it easy and I've seen it can take six months or longer if I can get it back. 

So, if you were a fan of my Facebook page, you'll be happy to learn I've started a new one. If you're on Facebook then I really hope you start following The James Bond Dossier's Facebook Page here.

Talking about social media, Twitter just isn't as useful as it once was. I used to access Twitter via Tweetdeck but even that option now requires a paid account and the web interface has never been great.

I'm also unhappy with what Musk is doing with the platform. That's not a political statement, I'm not a fan of Zuckerberg or any other social media leaders either.

So, I'm going to see if I can get to grips with Instagram again. I used to use it regularly at one point but it requires a lot more work than Twitter did in its heyday - more or less a decade ago!

 

News

While there's no visible movement visible on Bond 26, that's not to say nothing is happening in the world of 007. And that's not to say there is nothing happening with Bond 26, just that there is nothing we can see happening.

But one thing that may help the cogs turn more swiftly is the end of the writers' strike in America. While Purvis and Wade may or may not be prevented by working on the film by their union, politically they may not be working in solidarity with their US cousins.

Even if they belong to the UK writers union rather than the US one, members have been instructed not to work on American projects. And while Eon Productions is incorporated in the UK, funding for Bond comes from Amazon via MGM. So while technically Bond 26 may be a British film, it may fall into a grey area. 

That is all speculation on my part, and it could turn out that they have been busy writing draft after draft of Bond 26 during the strike. I guess at some point we'll find out!

Anyway, before we look at those director rumours for Bond 26, let's look at some other Bond news!

In a bit of a surprise move it was announced at the beginning of September that a new James Bond game was scheduled to be released at the end of the month. Developer Tilting Point released Cypher 007 on 29th September exclusively on Apple Arcade. 

August saw Ian Fleming Publications announced new editions of three continuation novels due for Global James Bond Day. At the time they released interim, rather generic artwork. But in September they revealed the final artwork in a short interview with the cover designer, David Eldridge. 

Just recently there have been a number of rumours published recently about potential directors for Bond 26. Once again Christopher Nolan’s name came up in an article by Jordan Ruimy on World of Reel, which I discussed here.

A week later the author was saying that Nolan was out of the picture and Matthew Vaughn was the top contender. But then last week he reported that Nolan was talking to Eon about directing two films and then executive producing after that. 

The fact that the site is flip flopping from one extreme to another is a strong indicator they are more interested in clicks than facts. But this last "news" item got picked up and has been widely shared by other websites. 

The source of the story was a poster on one of the James Bond forums. And his initial post was soon deleted.

MI6 HQ write about this in a post titled Anatomy of a Bond 26 rumour. If you ever wondered how utter BS gets shared as news, this is how it happens.

If you want to know everything we do actually know about Bond 26, as well as what to expect and when, check out my BOND 26 page.


 

It was a brave choice to send 007 to the US South and make every villain black for Roger Moore’s debut. However, it was arguably an even braver move to normalise interracial romance, as we see between Rosie and James in Live and Let Die, the focus of the latest issue of MI6 Confidential.
Issue #69 of the full-colour James Bond magazine MI6 Confidential is now shipping worldwide
 

Features

Javier E Trujillo is back with a review of the third issue of Dynamite’s newest James Bond thriller, 007: For King and Country!

In this issue Bond and Gann are on the run, chased by their former colleagues. Even with the help of a former Q, can they stop Myrmidon? 

And from the archives is this writeup of my Aston Martin driving day in June 2019.

 

 

This beauty is the DBS Superleggera in which I reached a top speed of 176mph on a mile straight from a standing start! That's 283kmh!

It was organised by Secret Cinema ahead of their Casino Royale screenings in the UK and took place at Millbrook Proving Ground. That's where the Aston was rolled in Daniel Craig's first film.

Bond 26 videos

If you're looking for news about Bond 26 then check out the following videos:

• No actor yet! What's happening?
• About that Bond 26 director speculation ahead of Global James Bond Day

I produce these videos every now and then but if you're interested in what I've got to say then make sure you subscribe to The James Bond Dossier's YouTube Channel!
 

Thanks all for now, if there is any real news about Bond 26 then I'll be in touch, otherwise I'll be back next month, same place, same time.

And let me know how YOU are celebrating Global James Bond Day this year!

All the best,

David Leigh
The James Bond Dossier

PS Find out how to mix the perfect Bond-style vodka martini here.
 

 

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