Sam Mendes has revealed he could hang up his James Bond hat after the next instalment, Spectre.
The director hinted the next adventure, starring Daniel Craig in his fourth stint as the MI6 agent, would be his final 007 movie because it is too much of a commitment and “all encompassing”.
“I said no to the last one and then ended up doing it, and was pilloried by all my friends,” he told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special. “But I do think this is probably it.”
Sam, who also directed 2012′s Skyfall, added: “I don’t think I could go down that road again. You do have to put everything else on hold.”
The 49-year-old filmmaker, who won an Oscar and Golden Globe for American Beauty, revealed he may return to the stage, where he made his name directing plays such as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Glass Menagerie and Twelfth Night.
“I’m happiest rehearsing a play or editing a movie, and when I’ve finished editing a movie I generally want to be back in a theatre environment again,” he said.
“It feels like home, it feels controllable after the chaos of a movie set. But it won’t be long before I want to do another film, and I’m very fortunate to be able to go back and forth between the two.”
Sherlock star Andrew Scott, Christoph Waltz, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux are amongst the newcomers for the Spectre cast, joining returning cast members Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes and Rory Kinnear.
“This is a bigger movie than Skyfall. It’s shot in more places – we were in Mexico City and Tangiers and northern Sahara and Rome and the Alps and London. It’s been an enormous undertaking,” the director said.
Sam also revealed the theme song for Spectre has already been recorded, but remained tight-lipped about the singer’s identity.
“I can say that the song’s been recorded and it’s fantastic and I’m very excited about it,” he said, adding: “You won’t have to wait long.”
Adele won a Grammy for singing the Skyfall theme tune, and artists who have been linked to Spectre’s song include Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, One Direction and Lana Del Rey.
Spectre will open in UK cinemas on October 26.
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