James Bond fans face a reported wait of over five years to see 007 return to the big screen. Production issues and casting delays are thought to be the reason behind the follow-up to No Time To Die being some way off.

No Time To Die, which hit cinemas in 2021, was the last 007 movie to star Daniel Craig. In June 2022, producer Barbara Broccoli revealed that the next Bond film was still in its infancy, stating, “There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is, and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”

That timeline has now passed, and the search for a new Bond has been slow, with no lead actor announced and the project still years from hitting theaters, reports the Mirror. Adding to issues is the fact Ms Broccoli is currently committed to a musical, Sing Street, set to transfer to the London stage in Summer 2025, which will likely occupy her time in the coming months.

With no official title, ‘Bond 26’ is listed as ‘In Development’ on industry websites and is lacking a confirmed lead actor, shooting locations, and plot. Typically, a shooting schedule would be drafted months in advance, and previous Bond films have taken up to two years to film and edit.

One film insider has suggested that the best case scenario would see a new Bond film hitting cinemas by the end of 2026, five years after No Time To Die. This is contingent on things being shaken up soon. There have been rumours of issues with scripts and delays, according to another source. Last month, men’s magazine GQ posed the question of who would be the new Bond.

They highlighted previous reports that Aaron Taylor-Johnson had auditioned for the role and was said to have verbally agreed to it. The magazine also suggested Masters Of The Air star Callum Turner, who bookmakers claim has been backed to play the suave spy.

Further reports last month linked Aaron Pierre, who would be the first black Bond, as well as Theo James from The White Lotus. Fans have been discussing the delay on forums, hoping that the wait to find out who will replace Daniel Craig after his five-film stint as 007 won’t be much longer.

The gaps between Bond films vary, with No Time To Die delayed by Covid and released six years after Spectre. However, in the two decades prior to that, 007 films typically came out every two to four years.

The Mirror contacted Bond film producers EON for comment, but received no reply.