Daniel Craig 007 James Bond
Daniel Craig as Bond in 2012's Skyfall. EON Productions

Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as British superspy James Bond is set for release in late 2019, meaning production will be coming together over the next few months ahead of the assumed start of filming this summer.

All that's been announced so far by EON Productions is that the film will release in October/November next year, that Craig is returning and that veteran writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade will be penning the script.

Next on the agenda is the hiring of a director, and according to Variety Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle is high on the producer's hit list.

Boyle is best-known for Slumdog Millionaire - which earned him his Best Director Oscar in 2009 - Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, which included a starring role for Craig's 007.

Craig starred in a short skit directed by Boyle, which featured a cameo from Queen Elizabeth II. The pair met at Buckingham Palace before getting into a helicopter and making a grand entrance, "parachuting" into the Olympic Stadium together.

According to Variety's sources, Boyle has been sought for a Bond outing since the early days of 2012's Skyfall, and his name is in contention again as part of a push for a big name director similar to American Beauty's Sam Mendes, who directed Skyfall and 2015's Spectre. The report also states that no formal offer has been made to Boyle.

Lower profile director Yann Demange (known for Irish drama '71) was previously considered a top choice. He may yet get the gig if the pursuit of Boyle falls through.

Danny Boyle, who has always resisted the temptation of big studio movies, has previously been vocal about his desire not to direct a Bond film.

Asked in 2013 whether he'd consider it, he told Collider: "They're not really for me. The budgets are too big. I'm better working at a lower level of money really because I like that discipline of not having enough money to pull off whatever it is you want to pull off. So I wouldn't be the best person to do those. No."

Five years later, Boyle's attitude may have changed.

No casting details have been confirmed for Bond 25, but it is assumed Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), Ben Whishaw (Q), Ralph Fiennes (M) and Rory Kinnear (Tanner) will return as Bond's MI6 colleagues.