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Bond 25 sneak peek released amid reports the movie is ‘cursed’

Prince Charles visits Daniel Craig on the <i>Bond 25</i> set on June 20 at England's Pinewood Studios.

Prince Charles visits Daniel Craig on the Bond 25 set on June 20 at England's Pinewood Studios. Photo: Getty

After weeks of reports that upcoming Bond 25 is ‘cursed’, the movie’s producers have released a behind-the-scenes sneak peek to allay fears 007’s biggest nemesis could be terrible luck.

The clip, set to Boom Shot Dis by Kully B and Gussy G, shows director Cary Joji Fukunaga working with leading man Daniel Craig as they shoot in Jamaica.

The footage has dancing girls, a slow-mo backlit Craig walking into potential danger, CIA operative Felix Leiter as reimagined by Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright and Captain Marvel’s Lashana Lynch as new character Nomi.

It ends with a huge blast, which is fitting given the fireworks that have so far dogged Bond 25.

They include an actual “controlled” explosion on June 4 that damaged the outside of the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, and injured a crew member.

That mishap came after Craig, 51, injured an ankle two weeks into filming and needed minor surgery and two weeks’ rehabilitation.

In New York on June 17, Bond 25 villain Rami Malek denied rumours Craig’s injury setback meant “key scenes” couldn’t be shot between the two actors. He said the ‘curse’ buzz is also untrue.

“But the thing is, Daniel was injured, so they are shooting what they can,” Oscar winner Malek, 38, said.

“The schedule has been altered. I know that. But with a franchise like this, I think they have it together. They have it figured out by now.”

Still, “few” movies have experienced problems ranging from “creative disparities” to “too many cooks” and stunt disasters “more than Bond 25,” is how British entertainment site Digital Spy put it.

“The follow-up to 2015’s Spectre has been plagued by a wealth of problems, some more significant than others.”

The latest disturbing incident from the blockbuster’s set was reported by TMZ, who claimed a 49-year-old man was arrested for allegedly putting a camera in the women’s bathroom on the Pinewood set of Bond 25.

The man, Peter Hartley, was arrested last week and is facing voyeurism charges, said Vanity Fair.

Pinewood confirmed the arrest to TMZ: “We take this issue very seriously.”

Bond 25 cast

Craig with (from left) Bond 25’s Lea Seydoux, Ana des Armas, Naomie Harris and Lashana Lynch at Ian Fleming’s Jamaica home GoldenEye on April 25. Photo: Getty

The movie’s woes stretch back to 2017, when MGM and EON announced Bond 25 would premiere on November 8, 2019.

That date has since been pushed back twice, and the movie is now slated for release on April 8, 2020.

Three months after he was announced as director last May, Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Steve Jobs) walked away from Bond 25, with the franchise’s official Twitter page blaming “creative differences”.

A calm Boyle told The Guardian on June 21 “they didn’t really like” what he and his writing partner John Hodge were doing, “so it’s far better to part company”.

There were reports Boyle didn’t want to focus on a modern-day “Cold War element”, but The Telegraph claimed the real reason for Boyle’s departure was a dispute with Craig over casting.

“Craig has a big say in all the casting decisions. None of the Bond girls have been chosen without his say so,” a source said.

“The problem came in when they were making the final decisions about casting pre-production.”

Boyle was replaced by Fukunaga (True Detective, Maniac) but because his script and vision was canned, the result was “rather a lot of chopping and changing, which is allegedly still going on”, Digital Spy reported.

“They don’t have a script, there’s no title, it is nearly five years since the last Bond. It starts with a retired Bond living in wedded bliss, but the rest of the script is still being worked over,” a source told Page Six.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) is “writing a re-write of a re-write Cary’s writing” another source told the Mail Online.

“The crew reckon they’re working on a well-polished s–t show. They have an outline of plot, but dialogue is all last minute. It’s not the way to make a movie.”

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