The veteran composer has less than four months to put together a score.
Although he's worked on movies like 'The Last Samurai', 'Inception', 'Dunkirk' and countless others, Hans Zimmer could be facing quite a task for his next movie - 'No Time To Die'.
It's been reported by Variety that Zimmer has been drafted in to replace Dan Romer, a frequent collaborator with director Cary Fukunaga, after that old chestnut - "creative differences" arose between the two parties. Zimmer has a pretty full dance card for 2020, with the likes of Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune', 'Top Gun: Maverick', and comic-book blockbuster 'Wonder Woman 1984' all looking for the Zimmer score.
'No Time To Die' hasn't been without some problems during its production. Danny Boyle bailed out of the project pretty early on, taking screenwriter John Hodge with him. After his exit, Boyle declared that he'd never work "in franchises" again. Next came various casting issues, with actors like 'Cold War' star Tomasz Klot and 'John Wick 3' alum Saïd Taghmaoui in the running before they landed on Oscar winner Rami Malek as the villain. In fact, in the movie franchise's 58-year history, this is the first time that a composer has been replaced mid-production.
All that said, Hans Zimmer is one of the most recognisable and celebrated movie composers working today, so if anyone's able to pull something off, it's him. Just listen to his score for 'Inception' and you'll know how he could handle an espionage blockbuster.
'No Time To Die' lands in Irish cinemas on April 10th.