New James Bond director revealed to be Cary Joji Fukunaga

Cary Joji Fukunaga will direct the next installment in the spy thriller series. Photo / AP

American director Cary Joji Fukunaga will direct the next James Bond film, it has been announced.

Fukunaga replaces Danny Boyle, who stepped down as the film's director in August.

An announcement on the official James Bond twitter account said: "Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig announced today that #Bond25 will begin filming at Pinewood Studios on 4 March 2019 under the helm of director, Cary Joji Fukunaga with a worldwide release date of 14 February 2020.

"We are delighted to be working with Cary. His versatility and innovation make him an excellent choice for our next James Bond adventure," said Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli."

Fukunaga's films include the 2015 war drama Beasts of No Nation, which he not only directed, but also wrote, produced and oversaw cinematography.

The acclaimed film won a handful of industry awards, including the Independent Spirit Awards for best male lead for Abraham Attah and the best supporting male for Elba, and a George Foster Peabody Award for excellence.

He also wrote and directed the 2009 film Sin Nombre and the 2011 film Jane Eyre. He was the director and executive producer for the first season of True Detective, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

The appointment will be a disappointment for SJ Clarkson after earlier this month it was suggested she could become the first ever female director of a 007 film.

Variety reported her as a top contender for the role after Boyle left the project last month.

Other directors rumoured to be in the running to replace Boyle included Sam Mendes, Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie.

Of those, Mackenzie was the favourite - with William Hill putting 3/1 odds on his appointment, with Villeneuve at 4/1 and Mendes at 7/1.

Batman and Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan was also in the running with odds of 8/1.

Just outside the favourites, but still considered a possible replacement with 10/1 odds was Kathryn Bigelow.

Since quitting, Boyle has said it would be "impossible" for him to direct or write the Bond film due to him being too big a fan of the franchise.

In an interview with Radio Times five days before it was announced Boyle had pulled out over "creative differences", the director said Bond aficionados would be "hampered" by how much they knew about the plot.

His remarks came after The Sun reported that Boyle quit due to writers' supposed plans to kill off Bond.

The new film is set to be Daniel Craig's fifth appearance as 007 - and rumoured to be his last.

He previously said he would rather "slash my wrists" than return to the role, but later said he made the remarks two days after he finished shooting Spectre when he was exhausted.