Bond 25 will follow Casino Royale arc, says director Cary Joji Fukunaga

He also shot down rumours that two supporting stars won't return in the next film

Now Bond 25 has a director attached, details of the next film in the long-running British spy franchise are beginning to roll in.

Cary Joji Fukunaga replaced Danny Boyle as director last month and is currently re-writing his script that reportedly ruffled up feathers over at Eon Productions.

While obviously hesitant to reveal any details – not least because the script is not yet complete – Fukunaga did confirm one rather big point: it’ll bring things full circle for Daniel Craig by continuing the arc first presented in Casino Royale, his first outing as 007.

“In terms of what I can bring to change the character, Bond is on a character arc that started with Casino Royale, and I will be carrying that on,“ he told Inquirer.net. ”There will be changes, I am sure. As in any story, a character has to change in order [to have] a narrative.”

Whether this means Bond 25 will be set before Skyfall and Spectre – or even Quantum of Solace – remains to be seen. It’s also unknown which supporting characters will be returning, however, Fukunaga was quick to shoot down any rumours the film won’t feature with Q (Ben Whishaw) or Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).

“Who is saying those rumours?“ he asked, adding: We haven’t finished the screenplay, so there is no way that anyone could know that. Those are two extraordinary actors, so if there is space for them in the story, I would absolutely want them there. But I don’t know yet what it’s going to be.”

Fukanaga is best known for films Sin Nombre, Beasts of No Nation and the first season of HBO series True Detective. His most recent project was Netflix miniseries Maniac starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.

Bond 25 will open in UK cinemas on 14 February 2020.