We're now a little less than a year out from the 25th entry to the Bond franchise, and we know - or have at least confirmed - pretty much nothing except for a few salient points.

Out of all the movie franchises out there, Bond seems to be the worst for picking up false reporting and completely misreading rumours and the like. A lot of that, of course, is down to British tabloids either outright making up stories or vastly exaggerating nuggets of information.

For now, here's what we know and have confirmed.

 

WHAT ACTUALLY IS THE TITLE OF 'BOND 25'?

The rumours doing the rounds had it that the title would be 'Shatterhand' - but EON, the production company behind the Bond franchise, have strenuously denied this and said that it's the working title.

In fact, Barbara Broccoli signed a piece of fan-art with a title treatment for 'Shatterhand' with the words "It's Not". That's pretty conclusive to us.

The Mirror ran a story last year claiming that the plot of the movie had been revealed, and that the script was taking cues from Raymond Benson's Bond novel, 'Never Dream Of Dying'. Obviously, since nothing has been confirmed, there still exists the very slim possibility that this may be the case.

That said, when you read the plot of 'Never Dream Of Dying', it doesn't make a bit of sense to try and adapt that into a movie.

'Shatterhand', for those wondering, comes from Ian Fleming's 1967 novel, 'You Only Live Twice', and referred to an alias that Ernst Stavro Blofeld used. The simple fact is that the title of 'Bond 25' is unknown and won't be confirmed until it's formally announced along with the cast, plot synopsis and release date.

 

SO DANNY BOYLE ISN'T DIRECTING IT ANYMORE?

Yes, that much is confirmed.

Danny Boyle was originally hired and confirmed as director, but then left over that old chestnut - creative differences. In steps Cary Joji Fukunaga, who directed all episodes of the first season of 'True Detective'. As well as this, Fukunaga will be the first American to direct a Bond movie.

 

WHY DID DANNY BOYLE QUIT?

The precise details aren't known, as Danny Boyle has said it'd be unfair on Cary Fukunaga to discuss them. However, Danny Boyle has said the script he and John Hodge had written didn't meet with the producers' approval.

Replying to a reader's question in Empire, Boyle boiled (heh) it down to this. "We were working very, very well, but they didn’t want to go down that route. So we decided to part company, and it would be unfair of me to say what it was because I don’t know what Cary is going to do."

Boyle said that the script he and John Hodge had been working on "wasn’t finished, but it could have been really good." Sadly, we'll never know what it was as it appears a huge chunk of the script has since been rewritten.

 

IS PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE FROM 'FLEABAG' AND 'KILLING EVE' NOW WRITING THE SCRIPT?

Well, yes and no.

Trade bible Variety have confirmed that Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator and star of 'Fleabag' and 'Killing Eve', is set to take a final pass at the script at Daniel Craig's request before the movie enters production at the end of this month.

Waller-Bridge will be the sixth known writer to take a run at 'Bond 25' - John Hodge, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Paul Haggis, and Scott Z. Burns have all taken a pass at it so far.

 

WHO'S GOING TO SING THE TITLE SONG FOR 'BOND 25'?

Again, like the title and just about everything else involved in 'Bond 25', it's all subject to rumour and speculation. Nothing has been confirmed, nor has there been any firm information on it so take the name we're about to give next with a pinch of salt.

Dua Lipa has been named as the choice for 'Bond 25', and Italian press have reported that the singer is set to record a music video in Italy later this summer near Matera, where parts of the movie will reportedly also be filmed.

 

WHO'S BEEN CAST SO FAR?

Daniel Craig, obviously.

Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris and Lea Seydoux have all been confirmed to return as M, Q, Moneypenny and Madeleine Swann respectively. Beyond that, however, no actors have been confirmed - but plenty have been rumoured.

One name was Oscar-winning actor Rami Malek, whilst another was 'Cold War' breakout Tomasz Kot. Both were up for the same role, that of the villain, but again, none of them have been confirmed. Another name in the mix was none other than Villanelle herself, Jodie Comer.

Now, this might just be confusing Phoebe Waller-Bridge's involvement, but who knows? Right now, no names have been confirmed beyond the names we mentioned. Christoph Waltz, who played Blofeld in 'Spectre', hasn't been confirmed to return either, however when asked about it on a red-carpet interview, Cary Fukunaga didn't rule out his involvement.

 

WHEN IS 'BOND 25' RELEASED IN CINEMAS?

'Bond 25' has been confirmed for release on April 8th, 2020.