A new article from Blic Online has sparked some big rumours that Carte Blanche is the official title for the 23rd James Bond movie, directed by Sam Mendes. Ooh, and that it’s possibly based on the recently-published Bond novel of the same title. Which may come as a shock for some people who’d actually grown quite fond of the nickname Bond 23.

Of course, this is all based on rumour and intrigue, but the clues do keep piling up… Firstly, we know The Times Of India made a pretty big deal about the new Bond movie involving a very big train crash sequence, which ties in with the fact that the beginning of Bond book Carte Blanche features an Irish supervillain using a train to dump three hundred kilograms of methyl isocyanate into the Danube. Little scamp. We also know that the book showcases not just one, but TWO psychotic evil geniuses… and we’ve already been tipped that Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem are almost definitely signed up to be baddies in Bond 23.

The biggest and juiciest titbit so far? It’s even been quoted that Jelena Mihailovic so much impressed the producers and the director of the next Bond film with her music that they immediately “offered Jelena a chance to write the opening score for the new James Bond film, entitled Carte Blanche.” They literally quoted the title Carte Blanche there, didn’t they? Possible mistranslation, possible spill.

We guess it’s just a game of wait and see for now…

Anyone else excited that Daniel Craig’s off-screen partner, Rachel Weisz, could possibly have nabbed a role in Bond 23 or is that just us?