2011-11-04 06:24:32
3 November 2011 Last updated at 12:07 GMT
By Tim Masters Entertainment and arts correspondent, BBC News
The title of the 23rd James Bond film has been confirmed as Skyfall.
The latest 007 adventure will star Daniel Craig for the third time. Leading
ladies have been confirmed as French actress Berenice Marlohe and Naomie
Harris.
Skyfall is being directed by Sam Mendes, who won an Oscar for 1999's American
Beauty.
Mendes said the storyline will take the secret agent to London, China, Turkey
and Scotland.
It will see Bond's loyalty tested to M, his superior, while espionage
headquarters MI6 faces an attack.
The movie, which sees the return of Dame Judi Dench as spy boss M, will also
star Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Javier Bardem as the villain of the
piece.
It will be released in the UK on 26 October 2012.
Craig told reporters in London that the cast would start filming sequences for
the new movie later on Thursday.
Much speculation about the new film has focused on what Mendes will bring to
the franchise, with some suggesting he will tone down - or even abandon
altogether - the action sequences.
But the director denied that this was the case. He told reporters in London
that the "fantastic script" had "all the elements of a classic Bond movie,
including - to quell any rumours - lots of action".
When asked what fans could expect from the latest film, he added: "The movie
will reveal everything, and there's lots of surprises."
Producer Barbara Broccoli said no-one had yet been chosen to write and perform
the Bond theme tune.
Financial troubles
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Bond movie, 1962's Dr No.
James Bond is one of the longest-running franchises in film history, but Bond
23 will mark the end of a four year gap.
The last 007 outing was in 2008's Quantum of Solace, directed by Marc Forster.
Ian Fleming's unused story titles
Risico
The Hildebrand Rarity
The Property of a Lady
007 in New York
Work on the 23rd film was suspended in April 2010 because of uncertainty over
the company's future.
The franchise had been on hold amid financial troubles, with MGM filing for
bankruptcy protection last November.
A rescue deal and restructuring plan put US firm Spyglass Entertainment at the
helm of MGM, which had struggled due to several box office flops and a DVD
sales slump.
Craig - who made his Bond debut in Casino Royale in 2006 - is the sixth actor
to play the British secret agent in the official Bond series.
Sir Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Sir Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce
Brosnan preceded him in the iconic role.
Casino Royale, was the most successful instalment in the franchise's 49-year
history, making $594m ( 385m) worldwide.