Guy Ritchie is reportedly in talks to direct the next James Bond film. The 48-year-old star recently flew to California where he will talk with producer Michael G Wilson about taking over the long-running franchise from Sam Mendes.

An insider shared with Mirror.co.uk: “Guy has moved up the shortlist and is now the front runner. He’s meeting Michael this week to try to do a deal and see if they can agree on a shared vision for the film.

Guy is under serious consideration for Bond 25 and this LA trip should help take this further. He doesn’t have Sam’s artistry, but Guy is a fast-paced, stunt-based director who knows his stuff. He also has on his side the ability to keep calm and balance a big budget.”

Mendes had previously worked on Spectre and Skyfall, but earlier this year revealed he is now ready to move on to something new.

He said: “It was an incredible adventure, I loved every second of it. But I think it’s time for somebody else. I’m a storyteller. And at the end of the day, I want to make stories with new characters.

I can guarantee whatever happens with it, it will not be what you expect. That’s what she [producer Barbara Broccoli] has been brilliant at, and that’s how it’ll survive.”

Meanwhile, Bond’s MI6 handler, played by Ralph Fiennes, recently expressed his desire for the franchise to be “radically different.”

He shared: “Well I think if you’re the next director of Bond, you’re going to not want to go down the tone and argument of what Sam [Mendes] has put into the films. Questions of British nationhood, and whether Bond is a dinosaur, all that.

So I would guess if you’re coming to do the next Bond, you’d want to take it somewhere radically different, I think.”