Daniel Craig will make his 007 comeback later this year with the release of Spectre, a continuation of the story started in Sam Mendes's Skyfall. Craig has re-energised the Bond franchise since his debut in 2006's Casino Royale, and all signs point towards Spectre being another worthy addition to the series.

Here's a rundown of everything you need to know about Spectre ahead of its cinema debut on October 26, 2015.

Sam Smith is performing the theme song, 'Writing's on the Wall'



Sorry, Ellie Goulding and Radiohead, the music star lending their voice to Spectre is none other than Grammy and BRIT Awards winner Sam Smith.



Smith's track will be called 'Writing's on the Wall' and is available to buy and stream from September 25. As a bit of tasty trivia, Bond fans, he's the first British male solo artist to record a Bond theme since Tom Jones's 'Thunderball' in 1965.

"I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations," Smith said of the tune. "I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it."

The trailer is pretty spectacular

A helicopter doing a midair cork-screw, a tip of the hat to the On Her Majesty's Secret Service theme... and was that Blofeld? The latest trailer for Spectre is something of a corker and promises to be an homage-packed action-fest aiming to top Skyfall. Consider us excited.

A threat from James Bond's past will return

MGM/Sony Pictures



Spectre trailer embraces Bond movies past: Who's lurking in the shadows?



It's all in the title. Crime syndicate SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), headed up by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, regularly attempted world domination in Sean Connery's '60s outings, but they've been absent for decades due to an ongoing legal dispute with Thunderball co-creator Kevin McClory.

McClory passed away in 2006 and his Bond rights were eventually regained by Eon/MGM, paving the way for SPECTRE's return. The moody first trailer leaned heavily on the SPECTRE iconography (the octopus ring, operatives gathered around a long table), so expect them to be back and more dastardly than ever.

Bond's mission this time around is set in motion with the discovery that Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), the son of his foster father Hans, is alive and kicking and up to no good. This makes Spectre's synopsis line of "a cryptic message from Bond's past" both a symbolic and literal one - the franchise's big bad villains are back as well as a figure from 007's secretive past.

Christoph Waltz… is he or isn't he?

Mike Marsland/WireImage



Where there is SPECTRE, there is Blofeld. Though Waltz has denied he's playing Bond's arch-nemesis, it's been heavily rumoured that his "Oberhauser" identity is all a ruse to cover up the truth. This is all shaping up to be a not-so-surprising reveal in the vein of Star Trek's John Harrison/Khan and Batman Begins's Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul.



Whether this incarnation of Blofeld has facial scarring or a white Persian cat remains to be seen. However, it seems pretty clear that this represents a definitive clean continuity break from past movies and this version of the character won't be the one who murdered Bond's wife at the close of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

The Bond Women hail from France and Italy

David M. Benett/WireImage



French actress Léa Seydoux already has spy movie form thanks to a brief role in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, but it's her powerful performance in Blue is the Warmest Colour that marks her out as the most exciting Bond Woman since Casino Royale's Eva Green.



Little is know of her character Madeleine Swann, although early buzz has her down as the daughter of Jesper Christensen's Quantum chief Mr White (who appeared in Spectre's teaser).

Monica Bellucci has the role of Lucia Sciarra but, like Seydoux, we have little to go on as to her exact role in the story. Set photos and the trailer have her in mourning mode at a funeral - perhaps she was close to a slain SPECTRE agent?

007 will clock up some serious air miles

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Where Skyfall was largely UK-centric, making good use of London and the Scottish Highlands, its follow-up has much more of a globe-trotting feel.



It's been confirmed that the opening sequence takes place in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead festival as Bond crosses paths with Stephanie Sigman's character Estrella.

Long-time Bond producer Michael G Wilson calls the pre-credits opener "the biggest sequence we've ever done", and in addition to that there'll be stop-offs in Italy, Austria, Morocco and the UK.

Bond has a brand new set of wheels

We'll admit it, Raoul Silva obliterating Bond's Aston Martin DB5 was tough to take. Though Spectre won't be bringing back the iconic vehicle, there will be a place for its offspring the DB10.

This sleek motor was custom-made specially for Spectre and, according to Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman, it "offers a glimpse to the future design direction for the next generation of Aston Martins".

In Spectre, the DB10 will find itself in a high-speed car chase along the banks of the Tiber and through the streets of Rome with a Jaguar C-X75. The latter has Dave Bautista's SPECTRE villain Mr Hinx behind the wheel, but we're banking on Q arming the Aston Martin to the teeth to give 007 the edge.

Familiar MI6 faces will be back

Dave M. Benett/WireImage



Skyfall brought back old favourites with new faces as Ralph Fiennes inherited the role of M, Naomie Harris played Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw featured as Q. All three will be back in Spectre alongside Rory Kinnear's Tanner and newcomer Andrew Scott as a Whitehall character known as Denbigh.



Is Scott friend or foe? Nothing's for sure yet, but based on his turn as Moriarty in Sherlock, we know he can be changeable.

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