Well, it's official now.

http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2010/07/james-bond-is-dead

MGM is currently $4 billion in debt and desperately seeking a buyer, meaning that the movies MGM owns the rights to are basically screwed. Their financial troubles have been a big factor in the delays with The Hobbit, and now the word is that they've killed Bond 23, kind of a shame since it was set to be directed by Sam Mendes from a script by Frost/Nixon's Pete Morgan.

The movie has been axed - and it could be years before the secret agent with a licence to kill is back on the big screen. A glum insider said: "Members of the production crew have been told the Bond film has been canned.
Production company EON confirmed in a statement yesterday: "We do not know when development will resume and cannot comment further at this stage."
American TV company Spyglass Entertainment is the front-runner to take over but Summit Entertainment - which makes the smash-hit Twilight vampire films starring Robert Pattinson - is also understood to be in talks with creditors.

That's the bad news. The good news is that lots of other Hollywood studios have plenty of money, meaning that the Magic 8-ball movie, the one where zoo animals give Kevin James dating advice, 'Hasbro Factory' - those projects are all doing fine. And really, do we need another James Bond movie? I already got my secret-agent fix from Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl.

If some other studio gets their hands on the franchise, for the love of god DON'T give it to Michael Bay...

Anyone sad, disappointing, [insert emotion here]? I know I am. I love the films (although I won't lie, I haven't seen the ones with Craig).

meh, I honestly think my love of James Bond ended with Brosnan. Not that Craig is bad or anything, it's just that the character isn't the same.

Matt_LRR:
shame. Craig was really good, despite the mis-steps made in Quantum of Solace. Casino Royale was easily on par with Goldeneye.

-m

What was wrong with Quantum of Solace?

OT: It's obviously not completely dead, but I do worry that Craig will not get the role again; he's my favourite by far.

Jaywebbs:
meh, I honestly think my love of James Bond ended with Brosnan. Not that Craig is bad or anything, it's just that the character isn't the same.

They're closer to the novels and less family oriented, they're definitely not the same. At least this will free Craig up to do more works. I'd like to see him naked in a good comedy.

Damn, I liked Craig. I hoped he would at least get 3 movies in before the Bond torch was passed. No doubt the film series will be renewed in the future, but not with Craig as Bond.

Bond died than casino royale came out for me it was like somebody took james and broke all he's bones and than took him to the backyard and shot him whith a shotgun in the head.

Living Contradiction:
Bond isn't going to die with MGM. They gave it a good run but there's no way that he'll be leaving the silver screen without someone picking up the reins.

Heh. The guy survived six movie incarnations, eleven directors, five different authors, and sixty-seven years of peril. Believe me, he'll cope.

Since MGM owns the rights to the movies it is dead if you look at it that way. Unless they do what the article said and sell it to some other studio, there won't be one for a long time. $4 billion debt...they have to make like 2 Avatar income generator movies

Hated Craig in the role (nothing actually against Craig, I just hated that they tried to make him like Bourne but British, it didn't work.) Sure you could argue that it was taking him back to the books, but Bond films haven't actually been that close to the books since Doctor No, (Doctor No being both the first Bond film I saw and the first Bond book I read, the book I read first, then saw the film.) The Bond films have always been a place for everyone's favourite campy superspy ultimate Brit hero, they are not the place for shaky-cam and gritty realism. Look at how much everyone hated the Timothy Dalton era the last time they tried to go gritty etc.

In fact, I think I've just cracked it. Last time they tried to make the films darker they utterly tanked and Bond was canned for nearly twenty years. They didn't learn from their mistake and he's been canned again.

So the solution as I see it is simple. Bring back the Bond Girls, bring back the Gadgets, for the love of God bring back some of that good old fahsioned one liner humour (it's called the Bond One-Liner on TVTropes for a reason after all) and let film Bond get back to film Bond's roots, because he has no business taking from the books anymore.

I do hope he comes back though, he was pretty much my first ever fictional hero at age 10 (I read Doctor No when I was young...)

Say it with me, people: FUCK.

Well, I'm glad it won't be Craig anymore, but I hope the next film doesn't take too long.

Woodsey:
What was wrong with Quantum of Solace?

OT: It's obviously not completely dead, but I do worry that Craig will not get the role again; he's my favourite by far.

Poor story, ineffectual poorly defined bad guys, bad script, one good action sequence and then meh, dire theme tune, doubly dire when measured against the fantastic one Chris Cornell cam up with for Casino Royale.

It was missing the awesome action sequences like the two big jumps in Goldeneye or the construction site sequence in Casino Royal, it also seemed to have completely lost the sense of humour that was in Royale that helped the film along so well.

It also lost it's sense of identity, it desperately wanted to be a Bourne movie, It even used some of the same camera tricks and scene set ups as the Bourne movies do. But Bond is the polar opposite of Bourne, he is the agent with unlimited resources who hunts down and murders men like Bourne without question. Filming it like a Bourne movie was never going to work. Still, it was better than Die Another Day.

I am holding out for Clive Owen as Bond, he would be awesome.

Also, whatever the financial upheavels at MGM, one thing is certain.

James Bond will return...

Meh. I've never been too much of a James Bond movies fan.

Maybe they'll come up with another wise-cracking pun-fu wielding character... Just like every second action character these days. And yes, I'm aware that James Bond movies date quite a while back and that they may or may not have been one of the first to use that kind of characteristics for their protagonist.

I've watched about the third of all the movies, mostly the old ones - I think the newest one I've seen was that one with some kind of an ice castle, a giant laser, and super-tasers. Or some shit like that. The (movie) series were always a bit too campy for me, and not in a good way.

I just couldn't get used to Craig being there as the switchover. Don't get me wrong, he's a good actor, I just never saw him as Bond material. He's just not as refined as Brosnan, or Roger Moore.

thank you recession for removing the fail known as Daniel Craig from the awesome role of James Bond

That sucks, I was really looking forward to a Bond movie NOT directed by Marc Forster (QoS was a steaming shitpile), I guess I'll be waiting a long while to get that awful, awful taste out of my mouth. If Bond is dead, he certainly limped into that shallow grave of his.

Bond hasn't been good since Craig got the job.

OR it may be decent since, if the popular theory that Bond isn't a person is true.

I hope Michael Bay won't ruin it. It's the very best if a movie franchise series you can produce.

If that deuce bag ruins it... I'll have no real forgiveness. 23 good movies, I won't like to see it being thorned at the 24:th.

Well whoever films the next one (and there WILL be next Bond movie, no doubt about it) I hope they keep Craig for the lead role, I got used to him and he wasn't half bad so far.

fix-the-spade:

Poor story, ineffectual poorly defined bad guys, bad script, one good action sequence and then meh, dire theme tune, doubly dire when measured against the fantastic one Chris Cornell cam up with for Casino Royale.

wasn't Quantum of Solace based on a true story? well I guess I could understand that history is not the most exciting thing especially when its about raising the price of water.

Marter:
I'm disappointed. I liked Craig in the role, and if it takes years for someone to pick it up, he'll be to old to continue with Bond.

Indeed. Craig was one of the best, if not the best, Bonds I've seen.
It's a shame that this has to happen, because that means, not only is Bond done, but Ian Mckellan might not be able to be in the Hobbit movies.

To be honest I am glad. I think they were ruining Bond by trying to turn him into just yet another generic "realistic" action hero and thus depriving Bond of completely everything that makes him what he is.

A super charming James Bond with a Jetpack that shoots Zombie Nazis in outer space and saves the world=Good.

A gritty James Bond that fights realistic bad guys that have generic motivations=Shit on a sandwich.

Matt_LRR:
Casino Royale was easily on par with Goldeneye.

BURN THE HERETIC!

Awww, I liked Craig.

It won't be long till someone else picks this up though. I'll give it 5 years.

I must be the only one who hated the gimmicky bullshit that Bond became before Craig was given the role. Was I the only one who saw just how terrible Die Another Day was? Or realized the Roger Moore was a mincing old fart when he started the role, let alone by the time he got to View to a Kill? Pierce Brosnan was doing okay with the role until they decided to go crazy with Die Another Day.

Daniel Craig is not amused.

For me, James Bond died when Sean Connery left the role.

Woodsey:

Matt_LRR:
shame. Craig was really good, despite the mis-steps made in Quantum of Solace. Casino Royale was easily on par with Goldeneye.

-m

What was wrong with Quantum of Solace?

OT: It's obviously not completely dead, but I do worry that Craig will not get the role again; he's my favourite by far.

Your right it's in a coma

Zeithri:
Good Riddance is all I'll say about this.

I won't go quite that far... but I'm not exactly sad about this either.

Well you know what they say......"You only live twice"

It had to be said.

In all seriousness I have full faith that more films/games will come out eventually.