Sam Mendes has confirmed that the next Bond flick, tentatively titled Bond 24, takes off from the events of SKYFALL.The featured characters will return aged and affected by event in the previous film.
In a recent interview with the Charlie Rose show the topic naturally turned to the upcoming flick, Mendes explained that with his second Bond film he will be creating the "second part of a two-part story” and that the film isn't a "direct narrative connection”.
The best part of the interview for me was when he mentioned his reason for returning to Bond 24, which is to take care of "a number of stories that are left incomplete" from the first film. He added "I cast a new M, I cast a new Moneypenny, I cast a new Q. I felt there was a second part of a two-part story" Of course hearing the audience go nuts for the first time when the Aston Martin DB5 was revealed – an "orgy of nostalgia" he calls it, helped persuade him too.
Also making things easier was Bond HQ's willingness to be flexible:
"[It helped] when [Eon] agreed to wait a little longer and not go immediately – not go with two movies [and instead] go with one, which I felt very strongly about."
So to be clear, Bond 24 will feel like the second part of SKYFALL, although it will not be a story continuation. And Bond 24 and Bond 25 will not be a two-part story (as originally planned). Also, it's important to note that the great John Logan will still be turning in two scripts as he is still on board to write the films.
I’m sure I wasn’t alone at the end of SKYFALL asking many questions, like how in the hell did Bond survive the shot and fall? Where did he get the money to live on an Island without MI6 knowing? And where did I put my keys?
You can check out the full interview below (he begins talking about Bond at the 17-minute mark).
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Miss Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as Q. There is also still speculation that Chiwetel Ejiofor is the frontrunner to play the villain, now that's awesome casting.
Bond 24 hits theatres on October 23, 2015 in the UK, and November 6, 2015 in the US.