Skyfall has gone on to be a billion dollar movie and is the biggest and most successful film in the James Bond franchise.
All this was achieved under the steady had and directing talents of Oscar winner Sam Mendes - he did a truly terrific job with rejuvenating this franchise.
It was hoped, and looked like for a little while, that Mendes would return to helm Bond 24 but it was revealed earlier this week that he has turned down the chance to return.
So this leaves on one question… who will direct the next Bond film? We take a look at some of the possible contenders.
There has been a lot of talk about Christopher Nolan this week and not only would he be a terrific choice but he has, in the past, spoken of his admiration for this franchise.
Nolan has made some terrific movies over the years including Inception as well as being the Batman franchise back to life.
He is a director who is just as comfortable filming spectacular set pieces as he is delving into and exploring a character.
The Dark Knight Rises was the last time that we saw him in the director’s chair and he currently does have any other directing projects in the pipeline.
I have to admit the idea of Nolan in the director’s chair for the Bond franchise really does excite me as he injecting a style and feel into the Batman series like we have never seen before.
Nolan has also been linked with the directing job for the Justice League, so which project will we see him tackle? Or will he pass on both?
Danny Boyle was a director that was linked to the Bond franchise after the huge critical, commercial and Oscar success of Slumdog Millionaire.
He chose not to go down that path but he could well find himself in the mix again - he is making his directorial return later this month with Trance.
While Boyle has never helmed a bug budget action blockbuster he is a great storyteller as well as a filmmaker with a great visual style.
If this man can bring together the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games in such style then a Bond film should be no sweat.
Much like Nolan after the release of Trance in a couple of weeks Boyle has nothing other projects currently on the horizon.
Another name that is being banded around for the Bond director is recent Oscar winner Ben Affleck - who is one of the most exciting filmmakers round at the moment.
The Bond franchise would be a huge challenge for Affleck as he is use to helming character driven dramas; Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo have all be superb films.
While Affleck has no experience of blockbusters behind the camera he has worked on many of them in front of the camera so this is not something that is alien to him.
But what is so great about Affleck’s directing style is his ability to move effortlessly between genres mixing them together with ease; Bond mixes action, comedy, romance and this should play to Affleck’s strengths.
The bookies have already started to have their say in which director would land this job and the early favourite is Guy Ritchie.
While I have been a fan of many of Ritchie’s films over the years I just don’t think that he would be the right fit for this franchise.
He has enjoyed huge success recently with the Sherlock Holmes movies so he is no stranger to the bigger budget projects.
We last saw him in the director’s chair for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and he is expected to direct a version of The Man from U.N.C.L.E for the big screen.
Other possibilities include Duncan Jones (Moon), Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) or Matthew Vaughn.
Vaughn has been expected to helm X-Men: Days of Future Past but he has left in the project and currently does have anything else in the pipeline.
Wyatt is not returning for the sequel to The Rise of the Planet of the Apes and he has just dropped out of The Equaliser.
Duncan Jones is attached to the Warcraft movie so it is unlikely that he would be free to do Bond.
There are also a couple of female directors that could potentially be a good fit for the Bond and the first is Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow.
She is someone who is not afraid to make hard hitting and gritty movies and that could well be a terrific fit for the Bond franchise.
Bigelow has just enjoyed huge success with Zero Dark Thirty and she doesn’t seem to have an upcoming project in the pipeline.
Lynne Ramsay is another director who should be given some consideration as here work on We Need To Talk About Kevin was wonderful.
She may not be a huge name behind the camera but she has a real knack of getting under the skin of her characters and developing them well.
The question on who will be the next Bond director is one that is far from being answered but we have already highlighted some very exciting possibilities.