As with almost anything coming out of Bond 25, the key is take it with a pinch of salt.

In this instance, however, you should probably take it with a pinch of salt the size of Scaramanga's island lair. It's been reported in The Mirror that the working title for Bond 25 is currently Shatterhand, and that much of the plot of the film has been taken from Raymond Benson's Bond novel, Never Dream Of Dying.

The novel sees Bond battling a crime syndicate known only as the Union, who are led by a blind supervillain called Leon Essinger. In the novel, Essinger doubles as a movie producer and Bond begins a relationship with a movie star called Tylyn Mignonne. How any of this fits into the continuity that began with Casino Royale is anybody's guess, but it's understood that both Christoph Waltz and Dave Bautista are set to return as Blofeld and Mr. Hinx respectively.

The script, which is being written by Bond veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, will apparently take some of its cues from You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but no other plot details were revealed.

As well as this, the Mirror reports that the film will be set in Croatia. Apparently, the mayor of a small village in Croatia leaked the news that Bond producers were in the area and scouting for locations, particularly Dubrovnik.

So, does any of this make sense? Any of this sound believable? Not really, to be quite honest. Taking a page out of a non-Fleming Bond novel does seem quite odd, as does the idea of a blind supervillain. Why would they bother replacing the great Christoph Waltz, anyway? Whatever about filming in Croatia, sure, whatever - but a Bond villain that's also a movie producer? Bond dating a movie star? Not a chance. Whatever about taking cues from '60s Bond, sure, that might work - but the rest of it? No way.

It's worth pointing out that, as of writing, there's nothing officially confirmed about Bond 25 - other than the fact that it's got a release date set for November 8th, 2019 in the US - so all of this could very likely be complete nonsense.

Either way, expect something more official in the coming weeks and months.

Via Mirror.co.uk