Bond 24: Sam Smith To Carry Its Tune?

The New York Post claims that British soul singer-songwriter Sam Smith has been chosen to sing the title track for Bond 24. A representative for Smith however tells the paper "that is not confirmed".

Smith is best known for the songs "Stay With Me" and "Money On My Mind" and has received numerous awards for his work, despite only really breaking through just two years ago. His debut album, "In The Lonely Hour," was released in May and is the second biggest selling album of the year in the United States behind Taylor Swift's "1989".

The report suggests that Smith beat out vocalist Lana Del Rey for the job--after she campaigned hard for it.

If Smith is confirmed he will have a tall order ahead--following the title track from Skyfall--sung by Adele 

Sam Mendes is once again directing the film. Veteran James Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have returned to perform rewrites. The duo have been the early writers on the film series since 1999's "The World is Not Enough,"and  they would often do the initial script drafts while other writers like Paul Haggis and John Logan would  polish. The pair were set to retire from the series after handing in their early drafts of "Skyfall," with Logan subsequently taking over the later drafts. Logan was writing the latest adventure solo.

Daniel Craig is back as Bond--we will also see the return of Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris reprising their roles from "Skyfall" as M, Q, and Moneypenny.

Casting for the film's key villain--This character is in line with the tall and imposing types from earlier films like Jaws (Richard Kiel) or Red Grant (Martin Shaw)--and the next Bond girl is now underway with announcements due over the next few months. Several Scandanavian actresses have tested for a secondary role, but the primary Bond girl in this film is said to likely be British.

Singer Rihanna is rumored to be making a cameo in the pic according to OK!.  Inglourious Basterds and Blue is the Warmest Colour star Léa Seydoux is said to play a femme fatale in the sequel. Guardians of the Galaxy's Drax the Destroyer and WWE superstar Dave Bautista is tipped to play a henchman named Hinx.

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will produce the new film.

Shooting doesn't begin on the pic until December 6th, but prep is already underway on the Austria/Italy border in the tiny municipality of Obertilliach reports MI6. Production will also take place in Morocco The cast will gather for a table read of the screenplay in late November at Pinewood Studios.

The sequel is still targeting a November 6th 2015 release