MUMBAI: In April, Michael G. Wilson and his half sister and fellow Bond producer, Barbara Broccoli had announced that development of the next 007 feature called Bond 23 was suspended "indefinitely."

Financial woes at MGM, which owns rights to Bond, is saddled with a crushing $4 billion in debt. There is no doubt, however that Bond will be back but the questions remain about how the new film will find its financing. It is also being questioned whether the open-ended delay will slow the momentum the franchise had rediscovered with Daniel Craig on the saddle.

Though Broccoli and Wilson declined to comment, but are said to be deeply concerned about the effect of an indefinite delay. Broccoli is hoping for a sale to Time Warner. Broccoli and Wilson also continue to push for Sony Pictures to be involved in the matter.

As 007 sits on the sidelines, Bond hardly is the only game in town. The spy marketplace is filled with competing secret agents crowding multiplexes and those are in competition with the slew of comic book characters seeking a big slice of Bond‘s audience.

GoldenEye veterans Dixon and Campbell have teamed on the upcoming DC Comics creation Green Lantern.