With Skyfall now the biggest British film of all time and the only Bond movie to pass the $1 billion mark, any tidbits about when to expect its follow-up are very interesting tidbits indeed - even if Sam Mendes is now out of the picture as a possible director. Handily, we have one right here with the news that MGM and Eon are aiming for a release for Bond 24 within the next three years.
"[We] are very excited about the franchise," MGM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Barber tells Reuters. "We look forward to announcing a director soon. We are currently developing the screenplay [with Skyfall writer John Logan but not, importantly, old hands Neal Purvis and Robert Wade] and working with our partners. We look forward to developing the script soon and signing a director. We are hoping within the next three years it will be released."
There had been rumours about Bond 24 and Bond 25 being a twinned double-sequel, but that's now been dismissed by Eon and co. Within three years, of course, means that it'll be out by 2016 at the latest, by which point its star Daniel Craig will be 48. If there's another three year gap after that, Craig's final film - he's signed on for just two more - will see 007 played by a 51-year-old man, which is nothing compared to Roger Moore, who was 57 whilst shooting A View To A Kill in 1984.
But who should direct **Bond 24? Have a look at our in-depth feature here and let us know who you'd like to helm 007's next outing.
For more on how Bond movies are made, check out our fasinating special podcast interview with Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade below. If you're even just a passing 007 fan, you won't want to miss this one...
P.S. You can download it via iTunes and our RSS feed here if you're not a SoundCloud aficionado.