Entertainment Movies Cary Fukunaga Is James Bond 25's New Director as Release Date Moves to Valentine's Day 2020 On Thursday morning, producers of the James Bond film franchise announced that Cary Fukunaga will now be directing the upcoming 25th film, which will be released on Valentine's Day 2020 By Dave Quinn Dave Quinn Instagram Twitter Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 20, 2018 10:46 AM Share Tweet Pin Email The upcoming untitled 25th film in the legendary James Bond series has a new director and a new release date. On Thursday morning, franchise producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that Cary Fukunaga would now be directing the action picture. “We are delighted to be working with Cary,” they wrote in a two-part statement. “His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure.” Fukunaga, 41, is an American director, writer, producer, and cinematographer. His previous projects include 2009’s Sin Nombre, which he wrote and directed, the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre, 2015’s Beasts of No Nation, and the acclaimed first season of HBO’s True Detective — the latter of which earned Fukunaga an Emmy for outstanding directing for a drama series. He will replace Danny Boyle — who dropped out of the film in August due to “creative differences.” Because of the delay, the movie will now be released on Feb. 14, 2020. Filming is scheduled to begin at London’s Pinewood Studios on March 4, 2019. James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock Daniel Craig Says He’s Been ‘Gently’ Trying to Make the James Bond Movies Appeal More to Women Daniel Craig will be returning as the title character. This will be his fifth time playing agent 007. His casting in the film was a bit up in the air, with Craig saying in 2015 that he was “over it at the moment.” “I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists,” he told Time Out about playing Bond again. “We’re done. All I want to do is move on.” But the actor, 50, confirmed he’d be back while on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in August, telling Colbert, “I always wanted to, I wanted a break.” Danjaq/EON Productions/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock All the Times Daniel Craig Said He Wouldn’t Be Back as James Bond: I’d Rather ‘Slash My Wrists’ According to Deadline, the script will be from screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The previous two installments of the Bond series — 2015’s Spectre and 2012’s Skyfall — were directed by Sam Mendes. Meanwhile, fans will get to see Fukunaga’s next project well before he gets to work on the Bond film. On Friday, Netflix will drop the limited series he directed called Maniac. A trippy sci-fi show, Maniac stars Oscar winner Emma Stone and two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill.