Pre-production on the 23rd James Bond film is expected to start in January according to producers, plus hints on other aspects of the next adventure...

Thoughts Turn To Bond 23
31st October 2008

As is the norm for the James Bond franchise, talk of the next adventure has heated up before the current outing has opened worldwide. With "Quantum of Solace" - Daniel Craig's second outing as 007 - due out in UK cinemas tomorrow, the media has started to question those involved about the next film. After "Quantum", the next film will be the 23rd in the series produced by EON.

Early hints at the timeline for Bond 23 suggested there might be a longer than usual gap between outings. Michael G. Wilson told reporters back in April that he expected production machinery to take a breather after work on "Quantum of Solace" was completed. Wilson said he expected to pause for at least a year, meaning Bond 23 would be likely released in 2011. "I need a break for a little while," he said.

Before filming had completed on "Quantum of Solace", director Marc Forster confirmed he would not be back for the follow-up adventure. "If I would ever do a big movie again in that size," he said, "it has to be my own franchise, which I would create from scratch, which I would cast, create the look and really create the franchise on my own." Now that the two-film story arc of "Casino Royale" and "Quantum" has completed, some have already raised the prospect of characters like Q and Miss Moneypenny returning. “I would love to [include them next time], but I think you offer it to the best actors you can and you say to them, ‘Forget what’s happened, reinvent it, tell us what you think these characters should be,’ and that’s where it should come from,” Daniel Craig said last week. During the recent press junkets Craig said that Bond 23 had not been scheduled. "As far as the next film's concerned, there is nothing scheduled," he said.

Things seem to have firmed up over the past week though, as producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson talked to Heart FM about Bond 23 on the red carpet at last night's premiere. When asked if Craig would return for another outing, Broccoli said it was a dead cert, she replied: "Oh please! Are you kidding? He’s got to come back, we’re not going to let him go. Are you crazy?” Wilson added: “It would be insane not to bring him back. He is the greatest Bond right now and the people love him.”

Wilson also confirmed that work was due to start on Bond 23. He explained: "Last time when we were in post production on Casino Royale we were already working on Quantum Of Solace. This time we haven’t even started but in January we are going to get some writers together and start kicking some ideas around." Starting the screenplay in January could mean that Bond 23 hits the traditional November slot in 2010.

When asked if new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko could return, Broccoli confirmed there was a strong possibility. She said, “I think she’s a spectacular actress and she’s done an amazing job in this movie. She blew us away. We would certainly love to have her back. If it’s not in the next movie, then certainly in the future."

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