Sam Mendes ‘won’t be back’ for more Bond

Talking to the BBC’s Jonathan Agnew on Radio 5, he said: “I said ‘No” to the last one and then ended up doing it and was pilloried by all my friends.

He did, however, give a kernel of information about one of the most important aspects of any James Bond movie: its theme song.

Sam Mendes revealed that he wouldn’t be working on future James Bond films anymore. However, he described the process as an “enormous undertaking”, adding, “It really is more a lifestyle choice than a job”. We’ll probably hear it around October, but we’re already hearing rumors about who will be singing it.

If this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s likely because he said something similar after his first go with a Bond movie, 2012’s Skyfall. Spectre is scheduled to be released on 26 Octoberin the UK on the same night as the world premiere in London, followed by wider release on 6 November 2015.

But although Daniel Craig still has one more Bond movie in his contract post-Spectre, Sam Mendes will reportedly not return for the 25th movie in the series. But it’s also, he clarifies, “a fantastic life-changing thing”. When you’re making a sequel to something that was successful, the pressure is increased exponentially, and so is the scale of everything.

How that streak will continue in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Spectre has yet to be seen, but USA Today just revealed our best look yet at the women of the 24th film in the franchise.

SPECTRE was filmed in London, Mexico, Italy and Morocco, and more than 1,000 people worked on the movie, he said. When a mystery from Bond’s past resurfaces, 007 is sent on a unsafe mission to uncover a sinister organization with a global reach. However, he did say we “won’t have to wait long”.

Also returning alongside Daniel Craig are his Skyfall cast-mates Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Bill Tanner) and Ralph Fiennes (M).