MGM says next James Bond film will hit theaters in three years

After Quantum of Solace’s release in 2008, it took until 2012 for MGM to make Skyfall thanks to its financial dire straits. Now that Skyfall has gone down as the most successful James Bond film in the franchise’s 50-year history, MGM promised investors and audiences that they won’t have to wait that long again.

“We are very excited about the franchise, we look forward to announcing a director soon," said MGM chairman and chief executive officer Gary Barber told investors, reports The Guardian. Barber promised that work has already started on the next Bond film.

“We are currently developing the screenplay and working with our partners,” he explained. “We look forward to developing the script soon and signing a director. We are hoping within the next three years it will be released.”

Skyfall became the highest-grossing film in U.K. box office history and went on to gross $1 billion worldwide. The film, combined with the success of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey helped give MGM a strong fourth quarter, as the storied movie studio continues to climb out of financial trouble.

While Barber is confident that we will see Daniel Craig as 007 again soon, it will be without director Sam Mendes, who said this month that he will not direct another Bond movie.

“[Mendes] did an amazing job on Skyfall,” Barber said this week. “We are very thankful for the work that he did.”

Craig will be back, since he signed on for at least two more Bond films.

image: Sony/MGM