For sale – James Bond

WE’VE been expecting you Mr Bond…but it seems fans may have to wait until 2011 for the secret agent’s next outing.

James Bond pre production has been halted James Bond pre-production has been halted

Pre-production has been halted and filming postponed while the future of the Bond franchise hangs in the balance.

The 23rd Bond film was to have been bankrolled by MGM but the Hollywood studio is up for sale in a bid to clear mounting debts.

The 007 blockbusters are a lucrative franchise and could be sold off. “In the words of another great British hero, Antarctic explorer Captain Oates, the next James Bond movie may be some time,” said Terence Doyle, editor of British Film Magazine.

Michael G Wilson, who produces the Bond films with Barbara Broccoli, admitted: “We just don’t know enough about the situation to comment but we know it’s uncertain.”

The earliest a new film is likely to go into production is at the end of this year, for release in 2011, a full three years after the last Bond, Quantum Of Solace.

Pre-production work on the film, which will again star Daniel Craig, pictured above with Quantum love interest Olga Kurylenko, is on hold until next month.

The sale of MGM, which owns the Pink Panther franchise, comes after a year in which it released only the failed remake of Fame. Potential bidders include Time Warner, Lionsgate and News Corp.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?