James Bond 23 joins Total Recall remake, Men in Black 3, Amazing Spider-Man, and 21 Jump Street on Sony’s 2012 film slate

Daniel Craig will return as 007 in James Bond 23

Sony Pictures and MGM will co-finance and distribute Bond 23, and have also agreed to partner on the next film in the James Bond franchise, according to THR. According to the report, the tentatively titled Bond 23 is set to be released on November 9, 2012. As part of the deal, MGM’s Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum & Sony’s Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, also announced that the two studios are exploring partnership opportunities on future movies produced by each over the next five years.

Although not mentioned in the announcement, MGM is expected to co-finance Sony’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which will be released December 21, 2011. There has also been speculation the two companies could team up for the upcoming Total Recall, although no deal appears to be in place yet for that title.

Bond 23 will be directed by American Beauty director Sam Mendes and will see Daniel Craig return to the iconic action role. While talks with Paramount broke down when that studio declined to go below an 8 percent distribution fee and wouldn’t agree to partner on other films, Sony moved to the head of the list to capture the Bond distribution rights.

Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson already had a comfort level with Sony, which played a role in re-launching the Bond franchise with 2006’s Casino Royale, followed by 2008’s Quantum of Solace.

The new Bond movie joins a high profile 2012 film slate for Sony Pictures, which also includes Men in Black 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, I Hate You, Dad with Adam Sandler, Here Comes the Boom with Kevin James, 21 Jump Street, Resident Evil 5, all in addition to the Total Recall remake.