We always hear “It’s not over until its over”, but the cover designers of Entertainment Weekly clearly do not live by this motto.

The filmic magazine has plastered their cover with a headline that reads: “GOODBYE MR. BOND”. But as readers of Bond23.net and any Bond fan will tell you, 007 may be stalled but his story certainly is not over.

The sensationalized story tells us that we wont see James Bond 23 for years to come, not just because of MGM’s troubles but because of Daniel Craig’s recent acceptance of a role in the Hollywood adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

It will likely be years before 007 returns to the screen, thanks to money troubles at MGM, Bond’s longtime studio, which has been up for sale since November. Even Daniel Craig seems to have moved on, signing up for the lead in a different potential franchise,The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The last time the Bond series was put on this sort of “indefinite” hold was back in the early 1990s, after a series of legal battles (and Timothy Dalton) nearly wrecked the series. It took six years to get it up and running again.

“No franchise can afford to be away from screens for that long anymore,” says an EW source but Bond fans will recall the events that lead to the chasm between Licence To Kill and GoldenEye and the long but ultimately satisfying wait between Bond 20 – Die Another Day – and Daniel Craig’s debut in Casino Royale.

As much as we reject this sensational story and others like it, we at Bond23.net believe that they their headline is right on one count… it will and has been a battle to save Bond, but one the production companies – even MGM should it survive – will be implicitly stronger for winning.

One thing is for sure, James Bond on your front cover seems to be a sure way to sell magazines.

About Skyfall – James Bond 23 (2012)

The new Bond movie will star Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney and Judi Dench, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The 007 screenplay will be written by regular James Bond scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, working with John Logan (Gladiator & The Last Samurai). Director of American Beauty and Road To Perdition, Sam Mendes will be directing the new James Bond movie. MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment in a joint statement on 2nd June 2011 announced that “Bond 23″ will go on release in the UK on Friday, 26th October, 2012 and in the USA on 9th November 2012. The first major announcement from EON Productions and Sony Pictures came on 3rd November 2011 in London when the principle cast was announced, along with a rough plot line. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.