Why David Ellison’s First Move at Paramount Should Be Beaming Up Phil Lord and Chris Miller for 'Star Trek'

Happy Friday, folks! This may be my longest issue yet — 6,500 words — so buckle up, take your time, and read carefully…

In addition to binge-watching The Pitt, which I’ll be able to review in early January, I’ve spent the last few nights catching up with A Complete Unknown and Nosferatu, and you can find reviews of both films below.

This week, THR offered up a plethora of predictions for 2025, and according to the trade’s crystal ball, Josh O’Connor could end up being the next James Bond. It’s not a bad idea, to be honest, but I don’t see it happening. For starters, O’Connor is already booking big projects such as Knives Out 3 and the male lead in Steven Spielberg’s next movie opposite Emily Blunt.

Bond is a movie for someone who is looking to be a Movie Star, not someone who kinda/sorta already is. Furthermore, I just don’t think O’Connor has the right look for Bond — to be fair, neither did Daniel Craig. He’s handsome, and he had a certain sex appeal in Challengers, but to me, Theo James would be a much better choice as 007.

Meanwhile, the whole “Who Could Be the Next James Bond” argument could be irrelevant judging by this Wall Street Journal report, which comes out and says what us Film Reporters have known for a while now — Barbara Broccoli is in “zero rush” to make another Bond movie. She’s actively resisting it because Amazon doesn’t just want another Bond movie, it wants a Bond universe. It’s as though Jennifer Salke doesn’t realize that the Bond franchise has only enjoyed the longevity it has had precisely because it has avoided suffocating its fanbase. The reason there isn’t a new Bond movie every year is that people would get sick of him. Eventually, Salke and other streamers will learn that audiences need to miss certain characters and franchises, and not everything is meant for a universe.

One thing, or rather, person, who is meant for a universe is Jared Leto, whose casting as Skeletor in Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe was finally confirmed on Friday — three months after my subscribers already read about it in this here newsletter. I think I’ll celebrate by having dinner delivered tonight! Fancy, huh?

In tonight’s newsletter, you’ll read about why I think David Ellison should be looking to get into business with Phil Lord and Chris Miller once he takes over Paramount in the new year, and why he should also be keeping a close eye on Rian Johnson, David Fincher, and Nate Moore.

There are also items about Sony’s animated Ghostbusters movie, the latest casting on Scream 7, Jamie Lee Curtis starring in a Murder, She Wrote movie, and my take on the first trailer for James Gunn’s Superman, which may be hiding a super surprise. Plus, there are reviews of A Complete and Unknown and Nosferatu, one of which I liked more than the other…

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