Industry pubs report the next James Bond film, “Number 23,” will start production later this year. The film is slated for release on Nov. 9, 2012 — a year that will celebrate the anniversary of 50 years of the Bond film franchise. Maybe the halt in production wasn’t due to money problems after all.Â
Daniel Craig and Judi Dench are the only confirmed actors to return to the film franchise, to play as James Bond and M. Future Bond girls have not been announced as of yet, although early last year rumors of Slumdog Millionaire actress Frieda Pinto and Rachel Weisz (The Fountain, The Mummy) were thrown around.
Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, along with EON Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced the news on Tuesday. The film will be directed by Sam Mendes, best known for such films as American Beauty, Revolutionary Road and Jarhead.
Screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan were named as developing the 23rd Bond script. Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) was originally slated to work on Bond 23 but seems to have been replaced by John Logan who wrote Gladiator and The Last Samurai. Variety estimates the film will cost about $200 million to produce.
