I wouldn't take it as gospel just yet but according to
Bloomberg - MGM have made plans for the next James Bond movie to be released in
November 2012. This could then be followed by a resurrection of the long running tradition of a sequel opening every two years. So
Bond 24 in 2014 and
Bond 25 in 2016, etc. For this to happen, MGM needs to find a 50% equal partner to fund the much delayed 23rd entry in the long running series. The further sequels would then be wholly financed and owned by MGM, which means there might no long term interest in an established studio coming in for this one time only deal. Though before any of this happens, MGM must first go through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy stages which they
recently filed for. They also need to make sure they can actually afford to complete production on
The Hobbit which may cost them $275 million total, of which they've already fronted $20 million of. Still, this is certainly the most encouraging news Bond fans have heard in what has been a dreadful 2010 for their beloved franchise. So what's the status of the talent for the next entry?
Well, you will
probably recall that Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) was rather excitedly gearing up to direct
Daniel Craig in Bond 23 this summer until MGM's ever worsening financial woes forced the series to be put on hold 'indefinitely'. Both have suggested they remain committed to the project, so there's a good chance they could clear six months of their schedule late 2011/early 2012 to shoot this. We hope so anyway. Mendes is probably the most talented director that's ever been hired to direct a Bond movie...