James Bond writer "tempted" to set next 007 movie in surprise location

Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, SAS: Rogue Heroes and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (yes, really), is making his already-impressive CV even more glamorous as he prepares to write the screenplay for the next film in the James Bond series.

While we don't know who the new 007 will be and what direction the franchise will take under its new ownership at Amazon MGM Studios, Knight did tease that he has an idea of where he'd like it to be set.

"I'm loving working on the Bond film — I'm tempted to set it in Birmingham", he told The Sun, perhaps jokingly referring to his work on Peaky Blinders. "I am always tempted to do that on everything I work on."

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Speaking more generally about what it's like to work on the action film, Knight said: "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," added the screenwriter, who will work with director Denis Villeneuve on the upcoming film.

Discussion about who the new 007 will be has been at fever pitch for a while now, and producer Amy Pascal recently shared that fans could expect a casting update in the not-so-distant future.

"I would say the end of the year is a good bet", she said. "We are being really, really methodical... Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. [The new era has] got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting."

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While it remains to be seen which actor will be the next one to play Ian Fleming's MI6 agent, one famous face who recently ruled themselves out of the running was Happy Valley star James Norton.

"I've been asked a thousand times over the last ten years. And I can honestly, hand on heart, say no," said the actor, before reasoning: "I think I may be a little bit long in the tooth now."

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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.