The next James Bond film will be called Spectre – the name of the shadowy espionage operation headed by Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the pre-reboot films.
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond 007 alongside Naomi Harris as Moneypenny, Ralph Fiennes as M, Rory Kinnear as Tanner and Ben Whishaw as Q.
They’ll be joined by Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott and Christoph Waltz who will take on an unannounced role.
In recent days it’s been rumoured that the actor will be playing Blofeld.
First seen in From Russia with Love, the character returned in five further films and made his last appearance in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only opposite Roger Moore’s Bond.
Skyfall director Sam Mendes will return to helm the franchise’s 24th instalment which will film in the UK, Rome, Mexico City, Morocco, and Austria from Monday.
In addition to the cast and title, a brief synopsis has been released:
“A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.”
Spectre will feature the new Aston Martin DB10, continuing the franchise’s 50 year association with the car maker.
The film’s title and casting was announced to a global audience via a live stream from the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios.
Producers by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: “We’re excited to announce Daniel’s fourth installment in the series and thrilled that Sam has taken on the challenge of following on the success of SKYFALL with SPECTRE.”
Written by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Spectre is set for global release on November 6, 2015.