Bond 24** – or ‘James Bond And The Something Of Boris’, as it almost certainly won’t be called – won’t have the boost of a big anniversary, like Skyfall, or the novelty of a reboot, like Casino Royale, but it shouldn’t need either. As a franchise, Bond has its mojo back. It also has a start date, with Ralph Fiennes telling MTV News that October is the likely kick-off for production.
With Pinewood studios also hosting Star Wars VII, there’s a leafy corner of Buckinghamshire that’s likely to be the capital of the entire movie world for the next two years. That said, there’s no official word on where Bond 24 will do its sound stage work – although it’d be a little strange for it not to be under the roof 007 lends his own bloody name to – and there will also be months of location work in a variety of exotic locales.
Bond 24 arrives in UK climes in October 2015. Beyond that we know less than a lot about what’s on the cards. Fiennes, of course, is back as Mallory – AKA ‘M’ – and Daniel Craig returns as Bond. Also lining up are Naomie Harris (Eve Moneypenny) and Ben Whishaw (Q), with Sam Mendes back behind the camera. One absentee is DP Roger Deakins. The cinematographer has ducked out of the franchise, but Empire’s big celebration of cinematography features some worthy successors.