With 500 million in funding under its belt, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is already planning where it can spend its newfound wealth.

However, first on the agenda will be, The Hobbit filmed in New Zealand next year. The Spyglass executives said they were “honored and inspired” to be leading MGM through the challenging time.

The question on industry experts’ lips is “who will be partnering with the big cat to bring us Bond 23? The release of Bond 23, optimistically scheduled for November 2011, would coincide with the50th anniversary of James Bond 007. Trade press Variety predicts that beyond Bond and The Lord Of The Rings prequel MGM’s slate is sorely lacking. Bond may prove the cat’s best hope.

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.