New Bond movie put back to 2006

Plans to release the 21st James Bond movie next year have been scrapped, after MGM failed to find a director in time.

Fans of the superspy will now have to wait until 2006 for the next film - which may or may not feature Pierce Brosnan in the lead role.

The failure to sign up a director makes the original filming start date of mid-January 2005 almost impossible to meet, which has had a knock on effect on the scheduled release date of 18 November 2005.

Several names, including Matthew Vaughn and Paul McGuigan, have been linked with the director job.

Meanwhile, a plethora of leading men, including Ewan McGregor, Dougray Scott, Orlando Bloom and Clive Owen, have been tipped to fill the suave secret agent's tuxedo should Brosnan fail to return.