It’s been a rocky road to production, but it now looks like the next James Bond movie finally has a firm shooting schedule in place, complete with a release date of November 9, 2012. The reason for the delays in filming was MGM’s well-publicized bankruptcy and the resulting reorganization of the company. Daniel Craig will return for his third outing as James Bond and the film will be directed by critically-acclaimed filmmaker Sam Mendes. Unfortunately, we have little to report on the plot as of yet since the scripts for Bond movies are usually kept a tight secret. Essentially nothing is known about “Bond 23″ right now outside the fact that it will take place right after the events of Quantum of Solace. The film’s script is attributed to Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who have been responsible for the last few Bond scripts, and John Logan, whose credits include The Aviator, The Last Samurai, and the upcoming Rango.

As a Bond fan myself, it’s nice to know that things are on track for the next installment and that Craig will indeed return to the series. I’m interested to see what Sam Mendes is capable of doing with an action film such as this, especially since he’s known for art house material like Revolutionary Road and American Beauty. He’s certainly one of the most high-profile directors to tackle the series, which makes him an intriguing choice. What do you think of this creative team? Are you looking forward to the return of 007?