"Late 2026, at the ­earliest. Maybe 2027. Perhaps even 2028," said The Telegraph, citing the British film industry's "current best guesses". The franchise has "taken a similar hiatus before", such as the gap between 1989's "Licence to Kill" and 1995's "GoldenEye", starring Pierce Brosnan.

Movies like Octopussy, Die Another Day, and Moonraker represent the long-running James Bond series at its most outlandish.

The James Bond franchise makes mega-stars out of the actors that have portrayed 007 over the years, from Sir Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan, Sir Roger Moore and Daniel Craig. All in all, six actors have had the popular spy’s licence to kill bestowed upon them,

In the three years since the last James Bond film, fans have continued to speculate who will take over the iconic role from Daniel Craig. We investigate the top contenders to play 007.