The next James Bond movie might be called Shatterhand

The possible title of the next James Bond movie is leaving some of the franchise's fans shaken, not stirred.

The Guardian reported Friday that the working title being used during production of the upcoming 25th Bond film is Shatterhand. Working titles don't always reflect what a movie's final name will be — the Star Wars franchise, for instance, famously shoots under purposely ridiculous or obtuse titles, such as Space Bear for The Last Jedi.

But in this case, seeing Shatterhand show up as the working title for the next Bond movie is notable since it had already been rumored as one of the names that was being considered.

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

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Though the title is undeniably ridiculous, especially when viewed next to names like Spectre and Skyfall, it does have some significance to fans: Shatterhand is the alias used by Ernst Blofeld in the Bond book You Only Live Twice. Whether this ends up being the final title, then, the fact that it's reportedly being used during production seems to indicate that Christoph Waltz's villain from Spectre may return.

The film, which will see Daniel Craig returning in the lead role after previously saying he would rather "slash my wrists" than play the character again, will open on April 8, 2020.