Is this the end of Daniel Craig as James Bond?

News that Spyglass Entertainment is hoping to buy out the bankrupted MGM studio has led to speculation that the much delayed new Bond film can finally be made. But it now looks very possible that we'll see a new actor replacing Daniel Craig as James Bond.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, a newly constituted MGM would hope to have the film - working title Bond 23 - in cinemas by autumn 2012.

With the film's start having been constantly delayed because of the uncertainties at MGM, Craig recently signed up for another franchise - playing the investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Now that Bond 23 is suddenly back on the front burner, Craig is thought to be unlikely to be able to take on the role.

But there's more to it than that, according to a report in the News of the World which claims that producers want to think again about what James Bond should look like in the 2010s.

Insiders say that producers favour going back to a more lighthearted Bond - as both Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan depicted him - rather than the edgy style chosen by Craig in the two most recent films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

"The plan is to return to the 007 format we all know and love," one unnamed executive was quoted as telling the News of the World. "There will be lots more sexy Bond girls. As for James, we'd like a return to a more suave, charming and lighthearted Bond. We're not sure if Daniel will be available."

Whether Craig would want to be available if that's the way they see it is unlikely.

Critics have generally admired the intelligence Craig has brought to the role - more so in Casino Royale than the less favoured follow-up - and few have missed the corny banter and jokey style of Moore and Brosnan.

A spokesman at Bond producer Barbara Broccoli's London office was unable to comment on the speculation.