Bond 23 is back on track! Daniel Craig to return as agent 007, James Bond, in 2012: MGM

It's hard to keep a good man down, even after bankruptcy.

British secret agentJames Bond, 007, is set to return to movie theaters for a 23rd version of the long-running and lucrative film franchise, its makers atEON ProductionsandMetro-Goldwyn-Mayerfilm studio said on Tuesday.

The announcement follows MGM's emergence from bankruptcy in December, which had forestalled putting a new Bond movie into production.

MGM and EON saidDaniel Craigwill return in the role of the suave spy when Bond blasts back into theaters in November, 2012 -- 50 years after 1962's original"Dr. No."

Production is set to begin in late 2011 withOscar-winningdirector,Sam Mendes("American Beauty") behind the camera. A title of the movie and details of the story were not unveiled.

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