Despite lingering in production hell for god know how long, the 23rd James Bond film is heading towards its November 9th 2012 release date with a fairly incredible cast.

With American Beauty director Sam Mendes captaining the ship, series regulars Daniel Craig and Judi Dench returning and Naomie Harris playing Miss Moneypenny, the film already sounded like a good proposition. Then came the news that Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) and Ralph Fiennes (the Harry Potter series) had signed on as Bond’s nemesis and a “complex” character, respectively.

Now it’s been revealed that Paul Weller-lookalike Rhys Ifans as landed an unspecified role in the blockbuster. Ifans (Notting Hill) has just recently finished filming The Amazing Spider-Man, playing the villain Lizard, but it’s unlikely he will stay on the bad side for Bond 23. Fan chatter has already thrown up the possibility of Ifans playing Q, which would certainly be a good role for the scene-stealing the Welshman. With such a cast, Bond 23 might just challenge The Dark Knight Rises for the blockbuster to see next year

He’s somewhere between 80 and 112, but James Bond seems ready to go with his 23rd film instalment Skyfall. Due for release on October 26th, the film sees Daniel Craig returning as 007, with Sam Mendes picking up the directing reigns, and that up there is the very first promo poster for Skyfall. To be quiet honest, it’s a little dull and doesn’t give much in the way of the plot, but with a supporting cast including Judi Dench (back as M, of course), Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw as Q, Skyfall looks like it could be a huge improvement on Craig’s last two outings as Bond.

WATCH/// FIRST TEASER TRAILER FOR SKYFALL

Yesterday saw the debut of the first promo poster for 007’s latest outing, and now we’ve got the teaser for the upcoming Skyfall. It’s very intriguing, without giving too much away. We’ll let you see for yourself, but consider us a lot more excited for Bond #23.