The next James Bond film will have a title that nods to the series' past: "SPECTRE."
Watch a video from today's #Bond24 announcement. #SPECTREhttps://t.co/ZN0BzZf9hz
— James Bond (@007) December 4, 2014
Director Sam Mendes announced the title Thursday, along with the identity of several new cast members and a new version of Bond's iconic Aston Martin car.
SPECTRE was the terrorist organization headed by Ernst Blofeld in early Bond films starting with "Dr. No."
Academy Award-winning Austrian actor Christoph Waltz is joining the cast, while Andrew Scott - Moriarty from BBC series "Sherlock" - will play a government official. Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci are the new "Bond girls."
MORE: Andrew Scott is next James Bond villain
Daniel Craig will play Bond for a fourth time, and Mendes returns as director after 2012's "Skyfall."
Returning cast members include Ralph Fiennes as spy chief M, Ben Whishaw as gadget-master Q and Naomi Harris as Miss Moneypenny.
"Skyfall" was the most successful Bond film yet, taking more than $1.1 billion at the global box office.
Waltz said his character was called Oberhauser, but many fans will hope he is really Blofeld, one of the most enduring Bond villains.
Principal photography on the new film begins Monday. Filming will take place at Pinewood Studios near London and on location in Morocco, Mexico and Austria.
The movie is due for a November 2015 release date.
