Will It Be “Specter” in the States?

Sam Mendes’ official announcement of “Bond 24’s” title.

We’ve been awaiting this news for days, and finally it arrives:

Director Sam Mendes revealed Thursday that the title of the 24th film in the James Bond franchise will be called “Spectre,” which Bond fans should know as the name of the evil organization run by legendary villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

That comes from The Wall Street Journal. Here’s more on today’s development from the film-oriented site, The Dissolve:

Spectre? We know Spectre! That’s the SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, the ultimate bad guy organization that pops up throughout Bond stories (they’re the ones with that cuddly little octopus logo). Naming the feature Spectre also gives major credence to the rumor that Christoph Waltz--who, yes, is now officially in the film--will star as ultimate Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the leader of SPECTRE. After the confusion of Skyfall (a title that functioned as its own plot point, and also a good way to get Adele to croon “shkkkyfalllll” over and over), this title seems almost too obvious. Is this some sort of trap? Misdirection? Anything is possible, but maybe this time around, the clearest connection is the right one. Paired with that Blofled rumor, it seems like we’re due for the return of Bond’s number one nemesis, even if he so happens to be the son of a ski instructor.

And the blog Tipping My Fedora provides some casting details:

Returning from Skyfall, we have director Sam Mendes and the core cast of Daniel Craig as JB, Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Wishaw’s Q, Naomie Harris as Miss M and Rory Kinnear as BT. Behind the screen (sic) sees the return of screenwriters John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (the latter two, as a team, have worked on the scripts for all the Bond movies since The World Is Not Enough). Composer Thomas Newman, production designer Dennis Gassner, stunt arranger Gary Powell and special effects supervisor Chris Corbould are all returning too.

The cast for Spectre will include Christoph Waltz (presumably as the villain) and Léa Seydoux (presumably as the leading lady) and also includes Monica Bellucci, David Bautista and Andrew Scott.

Spectre currently has a November 6, 2015, release date. There’s plenty of time between now and then to stir up viewer anticipation and thereby increase the odds of box office gold.

READ MORE: “Brush Up on SPECTRE Before Spectre,” by John Cox (The Book Bond); “In Spectre Gadget: Six Thing We Learned from the James Bond Title Announcement,” by Stuart Heritage (The Guardian); “Spectre--A Tribute to Ian Fleming,” by Steve Powell (The Venetian Vase); “Here’s Why the Next James Bond Film Is Called Spectre,” by Eliana Dockterman (Time); “James Bond Finally Falls for a Woman His Own Age,” by Philip Bump (The Washington Post).