Denis Villeneuve says he wants to do a James Bond film

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, whose much-awaited Dune is set for a release on October 22, has said that it is a dream of his to direct a James Bond film as he has had a "massive affection" for the character since he was a child.

On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Villeneuve replied to Josh Horowitz's question about directing a 007 film. He said, "I would deeply love to one day make a James Bond movie. It's a character that I've been with - like everybody - since my childhood. I have massive affection for Bond."

This comes just as No Time To Die, Daniel Craig's last outing as the iconic spy, has been getting raving reviews worldwide. Villeneuve said that it will be challenging to reboot the film series with a fresh lead actor. "What Daniel Craig brought to Bond was so unique and strong and probably unmatchable. He's the ultimate James Bond," added the Blade Runner 2049-director.

Villeneueve added that he now only wants to complete work on his two-part Dune movie before turning his attention towards a potential James Bond film. "One thing at a time. It's really a massive privilege. I don't want to say I'm very arrogant or pretentious right now. It's true that it would be a dream to do 007. I don't know if such a thing would happen, but it would be a privilege. At the end of the day, that would be pure cinematic joy," he said.

Dune, written by Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, has an ensemble cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, and Stellan Skarsgard. The film is slated to hit theatres in India on October 22.

No Time To Die, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, is currently running in theatres. Apart from Craig, the film also stars Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Jeffrey Wright.