Sam Mendes Says He Won’t Direct Next James Bond Movie

Francois Duhamel/Columbia Pictures Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem in a scene from “Skyfall.”

With any luck, the next James Bond movie will have a better title than “Skyfall” â€" yes, “Skyfall” â€" the 23rd official entry in that long running spy-thriller franchise, which featured an Academy Award-winning title song performed by Adele, the detachable jaw of Javier Bardem and Albert Finney in a supporting role that seemed almost surely designed for Sean Connery.

But whatever the next entry in the Bond series may be and whatever it is titled, it will not e directed by Sam Mendes, the stage director and filmmaker (“American Beauty,” “Revolutionary Road”) who oversaw “Skyfall.”

In an interview with Empire magazine Mr. Mendes said that he had declined an invitation from the Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to direct the next Bond movie, and would focus on his theater work for the time being.

“It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie,” Mr. Mendes said in remarks quoted by Reuters.

Mr. Mendes said that directing “Skyfall” â€" which sold more than $1.1 billion in tickets worldwide â€" was “one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I ! have theater and other commitments, including productions of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘King Lear,’ that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.”

But as surely as James Bond will return, Mr. Mendes added that he could come back to the franchise at a later date. “I feel very honored to have been part of the Bond family,” he said, “and very much hope I have a chance to work with them again sometime in the future.”

Mr. Wilson and Ms. Broccoli, who surely bear some responsibility for the “Skyfall” title as well, said of Mr. Mendes that they “hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with him again.”