New 007 writer shares unexpected update on Bond script as race for the coveted role heats up

THE next Bond film could relocate 007 from MI6 in London to Birmingham. Writer Steven Knight has a longstanding love affair with the Midlands, the home of his smash hit Peaky Blinders and drama This Town. The next James Bond film could relocate 007 from MI6 in London to Birmingham Credit: Alamy Birmingham is being considered as the backdrop for the next Bond movie Credit: Getty Now the screen giant is considering a Brummie background for the spy’s next outing. Steven told The Sun: “I’m loving working on the Bond film — I’m tempted to set it in Birmingham. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! “I am always tempted to do that on everything I work on!” Knight has been pulled in by Amazon MGM Studios, which bought creative control of the Bond movie franchise for around £790million last year. Sharing an update at the launch of the Peaky Blinders Underworld immersive game, he went on: “Writing this film is like working for King and country. I feel like it’s my duty. “Seriously, I am such a big fan of the whole Bond franchise. To be able to be the person who is writing the next one is genuinely an honour and it is a dream. “Making Peaky Blinders has been amazing and doing Bond is beyond that.” Director Denis Villeneuve, whose credits include Dune and Blade Runner 2049, will shoot the film. Most read in TV The hunt for a new Bond is now in full swing, with Wuthering Heights star Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner, 36, Harris Dickinson, 29, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 35, all linked to the role. Daniel Craig was the last Bond, relinquishing the role after the release of his fourth film in the franchise, No Time to Die, in 2021. The next film will not be released for another two years — making it the longest gap between 007 movies in their 64-year history. Amazon executives have earmarked spring 2028 for the spy’s return, meaning fans will have waited for seven years. Comment now