'James Bond 23' To Return With Daniel Craig, Studio Says

MGM also announces a November 9, 2012, release date for the previously delayed '007' film.
By Kara Warner

Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes
Photo: Gabriel Bouys/ AFP

There's exciting news for James Bond fans! On Tuesday (January 11), after months of rumors about the fate of MGM — which owns the rights to the "007" franchise — the studio has given the 23rd film in the series a release date and secured "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" star Daniel Craig to suit up as Bond once again.

According to Deadline, the still-untitled film will be released worldwide on November 9, 2012, with Sam Mendes directing a screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan.

While plot details are, as expected, heavily under wraps, we already know that in addition to Craig's return, Dame Judi Dench will reprise her role as M.

"I think I'm going to be needed in spring of 2011," Dench told MTV News way back in 2009. "That's a message I got. It would mean I could do something at the end of next year, something else, maybe be in the theater."

Among the other players still to be determined are a likely Bond girl, played in previous films by the likes of Halle Berry ("Die Another Day"), Teri Hatcher ("Tomorrow Never Dies"), Denise Richards ("The World Is Not Enough") and the woman who started it all, classic beauty-in-a-bikini Ursula Andress ("Dr. No").

With regard to villains, Michael Sheen's name has been tossed in the mix for the role of Blofeld, a character perhaps more well-known these days as the inspiration for Mike Myers' Dr. Evil in the "Austin Powers" movies. But there's no rule in Bond films that says the villain has to be male — or that there will only be one.

Who's your pick for the next Bond girl or Bond villain? Tell us in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655745/james-bond-23-return-with-daniel-craig-studio.jhtml

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