When does the james bond movie come out

You've got to feel for Daniel Craig. His final James Bond mission, No Time to Die, has finally arrived in cinemas, but some fans are already looking to the future.

Usually we don't actually know if it's the final movie in a 007 era, but all of the build-up to the new movie has focused on it being his last outing. That had already kickstarted the debate on who the next James Bond should be (Digital Spy readers say Henry Cavill), and it feels like the delays to the movie only increased the chatter.

We were meant to see No Time to Die in November 2019 before a series of delays due to a change in director and ALL THIS going on. It's now arrived almost two years later and is sure to kickstart another round of who the next 007 should be.

Perhaps as important though is just when we're actually going to see the next James Bond movie, so let's speculate. And fear not, we've kept No Time to Die spoilers out of this.

MGM/Eon Productions/Nicola Dove

James Bond 26: When will the next Bond movie be released?

For the majority of the Bond series, there are minimal gaps between the movies even when there's a change of 007. Generally there were one- to two-year gaps between all the movies up to and including Licence to Kill in 1989.

The changing of the Bond did little to affect the schedule with two years between Sean Connery and George Lazenby, two years between Connery (again) and Roger Moore, and two years between Moore and Timothy Dalton. However, there were six years between Dalton and Pierce Brosnan and then four years between Brosnan and Craig.

However, those extended gaps were more down to the fact that it was unclear a change of actor was going to be needed. Work had even begun on Dalton's third Bond movie before it was cancelled due to legal issues, while Brosnan didn't officially step down from the role until February 2004.

Since we've known for a while Craig was handing in his Walther PPK, there's a chance that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, producers and gatekeepers of the franchise, might already have an eye on the next Bond. If that is the case, then we could be looking at a fairly quick turnaround.

According to Wilson though, that search hasn't even begun. "We don't have any frontrunners – we haven't even thought about it – but whoever it is will take on the role and adapt the character to their personality. It's always been the case," he told The Times in August 2021.

Broccoli added that she's "still in denial" about Craig's departure and expanded on why it's not just a case of picking the current Twitter favourite. "It's a big decision for us because we're entering into a partnership with an actor," she noted.

"It's not like casting a movie when you find the best actor at the time – it's about resetting the whole template for the movies to come. So it's not just about what colour hair an actor has and if they fit a certain type – it's about where you want to take the movies and what you want to say."

Talking to BBC Radio 4 in September 2021, Broccoli added that it won't be until 2022 that they "start thinking about the future", adding: "We want Daniel to have his time of celebration."

Now, of course, they might be playing things close to their chest, not wanting anything to come out that might take the spotlight away from Craig's finale. If they've got their eye on somebody and the schedules match up, maybe we'll get to see a new Bond movie sooner rather than later.

A return to the classic two-year schedule might seem unlikely right now, but it might not be as big of a stretch as you think.

After Brosnan exited in February 2004, Wilson said that more than 200 names were considered for his replacement, including the likes of Henry Cavill, Dougray Scott, Sam Worthington and more. Craig was eventually unveiled in October 2005, so if we take a similar timeline into account, that puts us knowing the new 007 by the end of 2022.

The good news for fans is that things moved relatively quickly after the announcement as Casino Royale was filming in January 2006 and arrived in cinemas in November 2006. Again, a similar timeline puts Bond 26 in cinemas by the end of 2023.

Of course, there are other factors affecting movie production right now with delays still a fairly regular occurrence. Fortunately, they're more of a few days rather than a few months like in 2020, but it all has a knock-on effect in terms of actor availability and when/where movies can shoot.

After safeguarding the franchise for almost 60 years, Bond producers aren't just going to go for an actor that's available at the time. If they need to wait for the right person, they likely will and if that means a delay, then Bond fans have shown over the past two years that they can wait with the best of them.

Who knows, maybe if there is a delay for the next James Bond movie to 2024 or beyond, we might get a spin-off with Lashana Lynch's Nomi in the meantime. Assuming she's not the next Bond, that is...

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