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A poster claiming Pierce Brosnan's return has the iconic British spy James Bond set to come out this December has gone viral. The rumors began last weekend when Facebook user @YODA BBY ABY shared a poster for the said film, The Last Directive, with the message:
"PIERCE BROSNAN RETURNS FOR ONE LAST GO!!!"
The post continued to detail the plot, explaining that Brosnan would star as the retired Agent 007, who is called back by the "King and Country" for a final mission to "face a deadly foe from his past," adding:
"Years after "Die Another Day," Bond battles time and treachery to save the world one last time, proving legends never die."
The poster further claimed that the movie was set to come out this Christmas.
However, it is a fan-made one, and there is no such James Bond film in production. Additionally, user @YODA BBY ABY's profile on Facebook reads it was "100% satire and fake news." They are known to share similar fan-made posters of various films.
Pierce Brosnan appeared in four James Bond films between 1995 and 2002
James Bond is the titular spy in the novel franchise written by Ian Fleming. It was adapted into films by producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman who brought its rights in 1961, according to EON Productions. The first movie on the series was Dr. No, featuring Sean Connery as Bond, which came out a year later.
Overall, twenty-seven films have been released, the last one being 2021's No Time to Die. Several actors, including Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig, have starred as the British spy. Pierce Brosnan appeared in four Bond films: GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002).
Following Craig's departure in No Time to Die, there was an uncertainty surrounding the future of the James Bond franchise. Per Collider, there were rumors of actors like Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Cillian Murphy being considerd for the role.
Per the outlet, last month, longtime producers of the James Bond franchise, Barbara Broccoli (Albert R. Broccoli's daughter) and Michael G. Wilson (Albert R. Broccoli's step-son), handed the reins of the film's direction to Amazon MGM Studios. While they still remain co-owners, they will step back from producing the films and making any decisions regarding their creative direction, including choosing the next Bond.
Talking to Collider last week about a possible return as the character, Pierce Brosnan explained:
"Of course, how could I not be interested? But it's a delicate situation now. I think it's best to let sleeping dogs lie, really," adding, "It's a rather romantic notion and idea, but I think everything changes, everything falls apart. I think that it's best left to another man, really. Fresh blood."
In a separate interview with The Telegraph, he expressed that a British actor should take up the mantle. It is worth noting that Brosnan, who is Irish, and George Lazenby, an Australian, are the only two non-British actors to play James Bond. The actor also told the publication that he hoped Amazon would handle the character with "dignity and imagination and respect."
There is no official word on a new James Bond flick as of this writing.
