The producers of the James Bond franchise have confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry – the 25th official Bond film will be directed by the Oscar-winning Danny Boyle.

In a statement, EON said the screenplay would be written by Boyle’s frequent collaborator John Hodge, who also wrote Trainspotting, the more recent Trance and Boyle’s debut feature Shallow Grave.

The executive producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they were “delighted” to have the “exceptionally talented” Boyle on board.

Boyle was strongly rumoured to have been in line for the job and had previously said that he’d been working on a script.

Daniel Craig confirmed last August that this would be his fifth and final outing as 007. He’s previously worked with Boyle when the director produced the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics; the show featured a sketch in which Craig – as Bond – and the Queen, parachuted out of a plane and landed in the Olympic Stadium.

Filming will begin in December of this year with Bond 25 – as yet unnamed – scheduled for release in October 2019.