LONDON — Sam Mendes, the director of the 24th James Bond film, revealed Thursday that the movie’s title would be “Spectre,” and that the cast would include Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux.
Mendes, speaking from the 007 Stage at London’s Pinewood Studios, said that alongside Daniel Craig, who plays the iconic British spy in his fourth Bond movie, returning cast would include Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner and Ben Whishaw as Q.
The new additions are Waltz (whose character was named “Oberhauser” on Twitter, but pointedly left unnamed during Mendes’ announcement), Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra, Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) as Mr. Hinx, and Andrew Scott (“Sherlock”) as Denbigh.
The 007 car will be the new Aston Martin DB10.
In the film, which is set for a global release on Nov. 6, 2015, a cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation, Spectre. 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.
The film, which starts principal photography Monday, will be shot over seven months at Pinewood Studios and several locations, which will include London, Rome, Tangier and Erfoud in Morocco, Mexico City, and Sölden, Obertilliach and Lake Altaussee in Austria.
The screenplay was written by John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.
New additions to the Bond crew include director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema and editor Lee Smith, who both worked on “Interstellar.”
Crew from the last Bond film, “Skyfall,” who return include production designer Dennis Gassner and costume designer Jany Temime.
The composer is Thomas Newman, action specialist Alexander Witt is the 2nd unit director, and the stunt coordinator is Gary Powell. The SFX supervisor is Chris Corbould, and the visual effects supervisor is Steve Begg.
You can watch the announcement here: or at http://www.007.com.
Mendes was joined at Pinewood by Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for Eon Prods., and reps from MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Mendes’ “Skyfall,” the 23rd James Bond movie, took over $1.1 billion at the box office worldwide.