<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Despite rumours suggesting that Sam Mendes was being tempted back to the James Bond franchise, the Skyfall director announced earlier today that he had declined the chance to return to the hotseat for Bond 24. After the immense critical and commercial success of Mendes&amp;#039;s 50th anniversary outing, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson now have an almighty task on their hands in finding a replacement.  Mendes&amp;#039;s involvement in Bond could potentially signify an uptick in the calibre of filmmaker the series is able to attract, and with a cracking 007 in Daniel Craig and goodwill from Skyfall surely this opens the door to a whole host of potential directors? Digital Spy picks out five directors we&amp;#039;d love to see tackle the next James Bond movie below. Ben AffleckPros: Is three for three after Gone Baby Gone, The Town and ArgoCons: Might be tempted to cast himself as James BondIs it likely to happen: Affleck&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Best Picture&amp;#039; Oscar winner Argo displayed a canny knack for seamlessly flitting between tones - funny, thrilling, dramatic - but is this kind of thing really his bag? He&amp;#039;s reportedly turned down Man of Steel and Justice League, and is busy with upcoming directorial offering Live By Night. We could easily picture him as Bond&amp;#039;s CIA contact Felix Leiter, though.  Christopher NolanPros: A self-confessed Bond fanCons: Too expensive?Is it likely to happen: Nolan has long voiced his admiration for the 007 movies (particularly The Spy Who Loved Me and On Her Majesty&amp;#039;s Secret Service), and the snow-set portion of Inception is clearly influenced by Bond. We suspect that Nolan - if he were ever to make a Bond movie - would want to rebuild the series from the ground up. We may have to wait until it&amp;#039;s time for a lead actor changeover, but maybe his own personal nostalgia will pull him to the series sooner rather than later?   Duncan JonesPros: Bond fan, is David Bowie&amp;#039;s sonCons: Hasn&amp;#039;t worked on a large-scale blockbusterIs it likely to happen: Jones is two-for-two after Moon and Source Code, and his involvement in an Ian Fleming biopic points to someone who&amp;#039;s well-versed in Bond from books to screen. Still, producers Broccoli and Wilson usually gravitate towards more experienced directors, and Jones is yet to work with a budget that rivals that of a Bond production. Jones&amp;#039;s appointment could mean a David Bowie title track, though, and for that he has our full backing!  Kathyrn BigelowPros: Action expert, Jessica Chastain as a Bond GirlCons: Outgrown blockbuster moviemakingIs it likely to happen: Bigelow&amp;#039;s previous two movies The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty were sensational pieces of edge-of-your-seat action filmmaking. However, those films show a career shift away from the more mainstream fare, ie Point Break and Strange Days, that share blockbuster DNA with Bond. Still, a theoretical Bigelow Bond movie pairing of Daniel Craig and Jessica Chastain would be fantastic, wouldn&amp;#039;t it?  Rupert WyattPros: Franchise savvy thanks to Rise of the Planet of the ApesCons: Relatively inexperiencedIs it likely to happen: Wyatt&amp;#039;s contribution to the success of the Planet of the Apes reboot shouldn&amp;#039;t be underestimated - with a huge budget and intense production schedule, Wyatt delivered terrific popcorn entertainment and the experience has likely put him in a good place to deal with studio bods at Sony, MGM and Eon. Wyatt&amp;#039;s debut The Escapist also shows he&amp;#039;s able to do the nitty-gritty character work that the Bond series is often accused of overlooking.   Have we missed out any good potential Bond directors? Leave your comments in the space below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/james-bond-007/news/a463731/bond-24-5-directors-wed-love-to-see-replace-sam-mendes/>