It has been well over a year since Spectre hit theaters and in the time since, the James Bond franchise has been on relatively uncertain ground. The only real certainty being that the franchise is going to continue on one way or the other, be it with current 007 Daniel Craig or with a new actor in the iconic role. Despite the seeming uncertainty, James Bond 25 looks like it is on the right track as it has been revealed that the production is looking to film in Croatia, possibly before the end of the year.

The report comes courtesy of the fan site MI6 HQ who are reporting that Eon Productions, the company in charge of the James Bond franchise, is in negotiations to shoot the next installment in Croatia. The news came directly from the mayor of the city of Dubrovnik, who reported at a press conference that was held recently for Robin Hood: Origins, which is also filming there, that 007 is likely heading to Croatia. Here is what he had to say.

"James Bond is in an advanced stage of negotiations."

While the knowledge that James Bond 25 is likely going to be filming in Croatia may not be all that exciting in itself, given the current status of the franchise, this is actually very good news. A separate report from Yahoo! Movies notes that cameras are supposed to roll later this year, which would mean that things must be on track to some degree. Sony and MGM have made it clear that they want to see Daniel Craig back for at least one more movie, but he has been noncommittal up to this point. He famously said just after Spectre finished filming that he would rather "slash his wrists" than do another James Bond movie. However, he walked back those statements toward the end of last year when speaking with Vulture. Here is what he had to say.

"They say that shit sticks, and that definitely stuck. It was the day after filming [stopped on Spectre]. I'd been away from home for a year. Boo-hoo. It's a good gig. I enjoy it. Everyone's a bit tired. As far as I'm concerned, I've got the best job in the world. I'll keep doing it as long as I still get a kick out of it. If I were to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly."

The fact that the producers are already planning locations for filming on James Bond 25 must mean, at least to some degree, that they have a story in place. That is significant because the story would likely change a lot depending on who is playing 007. If it is Daniel Craig, they will likely be continuing the storyline that was left somewhat open-ended at the end of Spectre, which saw him seemingly walking away from things with Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) and deciding not to kill Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). If it is a new actor, they will be going in a new direction and will likely be hitting the reset button on the series to some degree. So far, names like Michael Fassbender, Tom Hiddleston, Aidan Turner and Idris Elba have all been thrown around. Tom Hardy recently expressed interest in possibly taking on the role if Christopher Nolan were in the director's chair. All of this to say that, if they are already planning locations and possibly looking to shoot later this year, they must have a pretty good idea of who M is going to be sending on a mission this time around.

Daniel Craig recently became the second longest-serving actor to play James Bond in the history of the franchise, but Spectre didn't satisfy fans and critics in the way that Skyfall did, so it would be nice to see him get one more crack at it to send his Bond off in style. We do know that no matter who is playing the famed MI6 spy in James Bond 25, director Sam Mendes won't be back and there is no word on who will replace him, though, John Wick director Chad Stahelski recently expressed interest. In any case, this is a good sign for those hoping to see James Bond return to the big screen sooner rather than later.