James Bond Gets Two New Bad Guys and a New Moneypenny

Finally, MGM's financial troubles are a thing of the past and they can get underway with the next installment of the James Bond franchise, unoffically titled "Bond 23", due out in theatres November 2012. Daniel Craig is set to return as Agent 007 and Judi Dench will come back at Bond's boss and head of MI6, M. And now three others are rumored to have joined the cast.

Naomie Harris (Tia Dalma/Calypso from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series) is rumored to have signed on to play M's personal assistant Miss Moneypenny. Moneypenny, along with Q, was a character producers chose to hold off on when they rebooted the franchise with "Casino Royale". As M's assistant, Moneypenny is clearly in love with James, taking every chance she gets to win the affection of Bond.  There is already speculation that the casting of a half-jamaican actress as the iconic Moneypenny was an attempt to be politically correct.

Also joining the cast is Academy Award winner Javier Bardem ("No Country For Old Men") and Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort in the Harry Potter series). Bardem is believed to be the new villain to battle Bond, while Ralph Fiennes is playing a "darkly complex" character. Early speculation is that Fiennes will be playing the head of the evil organization "Quantum", which had been pulling the strings in the two most recent Bond films.

via The Hollywood Gossip