SPECTRE, as James Bond fans will know, stands for Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. It's the organization 007 has battled since his first screen outing in Dr. No in 1962.
It's also the name of the new Bond movie, the 24th installation in the franchise, director Sam Mendes announced today.
Daniel Craig will return as Bond for the fourth time. Mendes also directed the 23rd Bond film, the hugely successful Skyfall.
"A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization," a statement from Sony Pictures said. "While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE."
The movie will take Bond from his base in London to Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud, both in Morocco, as well as locations in Austria.
Spectre's cast includes Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, best known for Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained; actresses Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux will play the "Bond girls." Returning cast members include Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear. Also part of the movie — a new Aston Martin DB10.
The film is set for release Nov. 6, 2015.
Daniel Craig
James Bond