‘Bond 25’ teaser drops amid voyeurism scandal and in-fighting rumors

Contrary to widespread reports, the upcoming James Bond film is indeed coming together. At least that’s what a teaser that dropped Tuesday would lead fans of the British super-spy franchise to believe.

The minute-long, behind-the-scenes film showcases footage from “Bond 25,” which is the current working title of the production. Star Daniel Craig, who reprises his role as James Bond for the fifth time, is seen wielding a gun around the Jamaican villa where he’s retired, driving on the streets of the island and chatting with director Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Other scenes tease the return of Jeffrey Wright’s Felix Leiter and the introduction of Lashanna Lynch, who plays Nomi. The multicountry production kicked off filming in April at GoldenEye in Jamaica — where author Ian Fleming wrote the iconic spy series — and also shoots in Norway, Italy and the U.K.

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Who we don’t see in the teaser is actor Rami Malek, the franchise’s latest villain. The actor reportedly shot his key scenes in Norway but has not yet filmed any with Craig due to the latter’s ankle injury in May, which is one of the many hurdles the production has endured. Malek also quashed reports of in-fighting between him and the franchise star over shooting key scenes together and the general sentiment that the production is cursed.

“The key scenes [speculation] is something that was fabricated,” Malek told Digital Spy. “But the thing is, Daniel was injured, so they are shooting what they can. I talked to [director] Cary yesterday and the schedule has been altered. I know that. But with a franchise like this, I think they have it together. They have it figured out by now.”

Several controversies have plagued the 25th installment of the long-running franchise, which has already sustained the exit of Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, postponements in its release date and shooting-schedule reshuffling because of Craig’s injury.

Incidentally, or perhaps strategically, Tuesday’s teaser came out just as yet another scandal rocked the film.

A man was charged with voyeurism this week for allegedly hiding a camera in a women’s restroom at the famed Pinewood Studios where “Bond 25” is being shot. (Britain’s Prince Charles visited that very set last week.)

The man, 49-year-old Peter Hartley, was arrested last week following a report of voyeurism at the studio, according to the Independent.

“We take this issue very seriously. We have reported the incident to the police and are supporting them with their investigation,” a Pinewood spokesperson told The Times on Tuesday.

Representatives for the Thames Valley Police, which made the arrest, did not have any further comment.

Earlier this month, an explosion at Pinewood Studios resulted in a minor injury to a crew member outside the 007 stage, as well as damage to the set of the action flick.

The injury and damage occurred during the filming of a controlled explosion, according to a tweet from the official 007 account. There were no injuries on the set.

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Boyle, the movie’s former director who is now promoting his latest project, the musical film “Yesterday,” told the Independent this week that he “just fell out” with the Eon Productions producers “about the way the script was going.”

“I think that obviously, being as they are, they want it their way and normally a director would accept that and go along with it,” he said. “But I have this relationship with my writer [John Hodge] that’s quite intense, passionate and loyal and I would not change him — precisely because I really liked what he was doing. Our idea was good, but they didn’t think so.”

Eon still owns Hodge’s script and “could still use some” of his ideas, Boyle added.

The film, still set for U.S. release on April 8, 2020, sees the return of veteran Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The film also has added Bond newcomers Scott Z. Burns (“The Bourne Ultimatum”) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag,” “Killing Eve”) for the rewrite.

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