After a series of delays and behind-the-scenes wrangling, it looks like things are finally settling down in the James Bond camp – Bond 25 is nearing production with Cary Joji Fukunaga at the helm, script tweaks from Scott Z Burns, and a new release date in April 2020. And with that progress comes a report of the film’s apparent production title: Shatterhand. The working title, which may or may not remain attached to the project as it rolls forward, is listed on industry resource Production Weekly.
Like Spectre, the title – which had been rumoured around Bond 25 for a few months – will be familiar to long-term 007 aficionados. In Ian Fleming’s You Only Live Twice novel, Dr. Shatterhand is an alias of uber-villain Blofeld – cue plenty of speculation of what exactly Shatterhand could imply. Will Blofeld be back? Will he be recast, with Christoph Waltz staying true to his intention to only play the bald baddie once and continue the tradition of the character being portrayed by a different actor in every film? Will Blofeld appear at all, or will Shatterhand spin the term off in a new direction? It’s all unknown for now, but let the guessing games begin.
In fact, all we really know is that the film will see Daniel Craig return in the tux, with a story that's set to continue the ongoing threads from Casino Royale and Skyfall, with familiar faces including Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris by his side. Bond 25 will arrive in UK cinemas on 8 April 2020.
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