Production

Production of Skyfall was suspended throughout 2010 because of MGM's financial troubles. Pre-production was resumed following MGM's exit from bankruptcy on 21 December 2010. In January 2011, the film was officially given a release date of 9 November 2012 by MGM and the Broccoli family, with production scheduled to start in late 2011.

Since then, MGM and Sony Pictures announced that the UK and Ireland release date would be brought forward to 26 October 2012, two weeks ahead of the US release date of 09 November 2012.

The film's budget is estimated to be $150 million, down from the $200 million spent on Quantum of Solace.

Skyfall is to be part of year-long celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Dr. No and the Bond film series. According to producer Michael G. Wilson, a documentary crew is scheduled to follow production of the film to celebrate the anniversary. Skyfall is also the first James Bond film to be released in IMAX venues.

Filming began on 07 November 2011 and was scheduled to take 133 days.

Direction and Script

Skyfall is directed by Sam Mendes, who first signed on to the project shortly after Quantum of Solace was released, and remained on-board as a 'consultant' during the period of uncertainty surrounding MGM's financial situation. Speculation in the media suggested that Mendes had commissioned rewrites of the script to '[remove] action scenes in favour of characterful performances' with the intention of bidding for an Academy Award. Mendes denied the reports, stating that the film's planned action scenes were an important part of the overall film.

Peter Morgan was originally commissioned to write a script, but left the project when MGM filed for bankruptcy and production of the film stalled. Despite his departure, Morgan later stated that the final script was based on his original idea, retaining what he described as the film's 'big hook'. The final script was written by Bond screenwriting regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, as well as John Logan, who recounted being brought into the project by his long-time friend Sam Mendes, describing the process between Mendes and the writers as 'very collaborative', and that writing Skyfall was one of the best experiences he had had in writing a film.

Title

In August 2011, several news websites reposted a rumour that originally appeared in Serbian newspaper Blic, stating that Bond 23 would be entitled Carte Blanche and would be an adaptation of the recent continuation novel by Jeffery Deaver.

On 30 August, Eon Productions officially denied any link between Bond 23 and Carte Blanche, stating that 'the new film is not going to be called Carte Blanche and will have nothing to do with the Jeffery Deaver book'.

On 03 October 2011, fifteen domain names including 'jamesbond-skyfall.com' and 'skyfallthefilm.com' were reported to have been registered on behalf of MGM and Sony Pictures by internet brand-protection service MarkMonitor. This led to supposition in the media that the film had been given the name 'Skyfall'. These reports were not confirmed at the time by Eon Productions, Sony or MGM.

Skyfall was later confirmed as the title at the November press conference, during which co-producer Barbara Broccoli said that the title "has some emotional context which will be revealed in the film".

Cast

The main cast of Skyfall was officially announced at a press conference held at the Corinthia Hotel in London on 3 November 2011, fifty years to the day that Sean Connery was announced to play James Bond in the film Dr. No.

• Daniel Craig as James Bond, agent 007. Director Sam Mendes described Bond as experiencing '[a] combination of lassitude, boredom, depression [and] difficulty with what he's chosen to do for a living'.

• Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the film's main antagonist. Bardem described Silva as 'more than a villain', while Daniel Craig stated that Bond has a 'very important relationship' to Silva.

• Judi Dench as M, the head of MI6 and Bond's commanding officer. Skyfall will be Dench's seventh consecutive film in the role.

• Ralph Fiennes as Mallory, a government agent with the authority to regulate MI6. Fiennes stated that the role was '[a] really interesting part which is really quite fun'.

• Albert Finney as Kincade.

• Naomie Harris as Eve. Early speculation suggested that Harris would play Miss Moneypenny, though the character's first name was revealed as 'Eve' with no surname disclosed, and she was specifically described as 'a field agent'. Despite ongoing speculation from tabloids that Eve would be revealed as Moneypenny. Harris herself dismissed claims that she would be playing the character, stating that 'Eve is not remotely office-bound'.

• Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, the MI6 Chief of Staff.

• Bérénice Marlohe as Sévérine. Marlohe described her character as being 'glamorous and enigmatic', and that she drew inspiration from GoldenEye villain Xenia Onatopp (played by Famke Janssen) in playing Sévérine.

• Helen McCrory as Clair Dowar, a British politician. McCrory joined the cast after Sam Mendes contacted her personally and offered her the part.

• Ola Rapace as Patrice, a French mercenary who 'is a man of few words' and 'loves violence'.

• Ben Whishaw as Q. The character returns to the franchise after being absent in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.