Sam Mendes is finished with James Bond. The acclaimed British director of "Skyfall" and "Spectre" said Saturday he will not direct the next installment in the popular spy series that started with Sean Connery's startling 1962 performance in "Dr. No."
"It was an incredible adventure, I loved every second of it," Mendes said of his five years working on the thriller franchise. "But I think it's time for somebody else." Mendes revealed his plans to step down from the series to an audience at the Hay Festival of literature in Wales. A former theatre director whose films include the Oscar-winner "American Beauty" and the somber "Revolutionary Road," Mendes said he hoped the next Bond director would come from an "unexpected direction," just as he had.
