Skyfall

Skyfall is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villain, with Judi Dench returning as M. The film was directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan. In the film, Bond investigates a series of targeted data leaks and co-ordinated attacks on MI6 led by Silva. It sees the return of two recurring characters, Miss Moneypenny (played by Naomie Harris) and Q (played by Ben Whishaw), after an absence of two films. Ralph Fiennes, Bérénice Marlohe, and Albert Finney are among the supporting cast.

Mendes was approached to direct after the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008. Development of the film was suspended throughout 2010 after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which caused screenwriter Peter Morgan to leave the project. Production resumed in December 2010 after Purvis, Wade, and Logan were hired and a November 2012 release date was announced in January 2011. Principal photography began that November after the film's title was revealed and lasted until March 2012, with filming locations including London, Shanghai, Istanbul, and Scotland.