Daniel Craig signs on for next 'Bond' film, with Oscar winner Danny Boyle to direct

Academy Award winner Danny Boyle will direct the next James Bond film, the movie's producers said on Friday, with actor Daniel Craig returning for his fifth outing as Britain's famous fictional spy, the smooth-talking, martini-drinking 007.

In a statement, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli describe Boyle, who won an Oscar for heart-warming drama Slumdog Millionaire and is also known for Trainspotting and Steve Jobs, as "exceptionally talented".

Boyle previously worked with Craig on a short film for the opening ceremony at the 2012 London Olympics, in which the actor, as Bond, entered Buckingham Palace, where he was greeted by Queen Elizabeth.

Craig has played Bond since 2006's Casino Royale and he famously Time Out magazine after 2015's Spectre that he'd rather "slash my wrists" than reprise the role, adding "All I want to do is move on."

After months of speculation on whether he would return, the 50-year-old actor did a complete backflip and confirmed last year that he would indeed put on Bond's tuxedo for a fifth time. 

The as-yet-unnamed Bond film's screenplay will be written by John Hodge, who worked with Boyle on Trainspotting.

Production on the 25th instalment in the Bond movie franchise will begin in December at Britain's Pinewood Studios. The film will be released in autumn 2019.