Could James Bond Be Coming to Malta? Johann Grech Tells Variety It’s His Dream
Film Commissioner Johann Grech told leading US entertainment magazine Variety that he hopes for the next James Bond film to be shot in Malta.
“I hope we’ll have the opportunity,” Grech said. “It’s an ambition, it’s a dream.”
Speaking to Variety, he said that while Malta featured in the shots of a couple of Bond movies, it could play a bigger role in the next one.
“It was a dream for me to get back Ridley Scott, and after 22 years, we got him back.”
The major American magazine went on to give some background on some of the major films and TV series shot lately in Malta – namely the Gladiator franchise, Napoleon, Munich and Enola Holmes. It further shone a light on June’s Mediterrane Film Festival which brought over production executives from companies including Marvel, Universal, Amazon, A24 and Annapurna to check out some of the country’s top filming locations.
Variety further spoke with the Herb Gains – the executive VP of Legendary which is production company behind Enola Holmes.
“Shooting a chase sequence through the streets of Valletta, set on the Day of the Gostra – a popular Maltese tradition celebrating the feast of St Julian – was particularly rewarding. We worked with puppet makers whose families have been creating this art for generations – it is one of the biggest set pieces we’ve done in the franchise, and we hope it will be among the most unique.”
Legendary worked with local producer Winston Azzopardi to hire 475 local crew members for 20 days of location shooting, Gains said.