It was confirmed last month that Sam Mendes will direct Bond 24, and may possibly make Bond 25. The speculation over who would direct the Skyfall sequel appeared to be over. However, Sam Mendes now reveals that a deal has not been finalized, and he is still not yet officially signed on to direct. Here's what the filmmaker had to say last night, during the opening of his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory play in London.

"In answer to the question you're going to ask, I don't know yet. I'm in discussion over the 'B' word and I won't make any decision until this is open. It's taken a long time to get this open and this has been my focus."

On one hand, the fact that the Skyfall director is still in discussions is promising, but it seems he hasn't fully made up his mind yet. Since the play opened yesterday, hopefully that means we will know soon, once and for all, if Sam Mendes is directing Bond 24 or not. The filmmaker was first set to come back for the sequel in February, before turning down Eon Productions' offer in March, citing his obligations to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Then, in May, it appeared he had signed on, but those reports turned out to be premature.

Daniel Craig is returning as 007, with Ralph Fiennes back as the new M, Naomie Harris reprising her role as Eve Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw playing Q. John Logan is writing the screenplay, but it is not known when production may begin. We reported in October that Sony is targeting a fall 2014 release date.