Will Daniel Craig be Bond? Speculation goes into overdrive

Daniel Craig is officially expected to return as Bond. However, he is currently shooting the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with director David Fincher, and that and other possible scheduling conflicts have caused speculation about whether or not he can return.In 2011 Craig will star in Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens and Jim Sheridan's Dream House with Naomi Watts, and he lends his voice to Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, due for release in December next year.

007 fans around the world are currently going mad again with suggestions on who should take over as the British spy - Clive Owen would be my personal choice but maybe the actor is a little too old to sign on for a deal that would most certainly include several films across six years. And Ewan Mcgregor would be excellent in the role. But inevitably there are also suggestions going about that it may be time for a black Bond or even, perish the thought, a female Bond.

Bookmaker William Hill has made Sam Worthington (Avatar) the 5/2 favorite to play Bond in the next film. Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) is 7/1, same as Will Smith.

Many believe that Craig will be back, but previous hiatuses in production have led to recasting the lead role. A six year gap (between 1989 and 1995) saw the swapping of Timothy Dalton for Pierce Brosnan. Then after a four-year break (between 2002 and 2005), Brosnan was replaced by Craig.

Putting in my bid.

Daniel Craig himself has previously stated that he doesn't mind stepping aside and has even suggested that it's time for a black Bond. As for Worthington, he was one of the actors who auditioned for the role that eventually went to Craig.

Meanwhile, a new Bond novel will be published in May next year, written by the author of The Bone Collector, Jeffery Deaver. The story's working title, Project X, reframes the series with a young Bond as an Afghan War veteran and "a very dark, edgy character."

"I felt as if we were just getting going and that we'd get the chance to make a couple more. I'd like to fulfil the circle with the story." Daniel Craig