Could James Bond be gone for good?

Many criminal masterminds have tried to stop James Bond day after day, year after year, but never could stand a chance. But maybe a secret weapon has surfaced in the likes of MGM Studios. The financially troubled studio has done what all the bad guys could not even come close to accomplishing...pulling the plug on 007's upcoming adventure.

The film, known for now as "Bond 23," was scheduled to hit theaters by 2012 and be directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty). Well...Not anymore. The U.K.'s Mirror newspaper, announced the movie "has been axed -- and it could be years before the secret agent with a license to kill is back on the big screen." According to the Mirror, the studio, which has released every official James Bond adventure thus far, is searching for a buyer. But that quest has been understandably hampered by the studio's £2.4 billion debt.

Now hold on before the anger truly ignites and consider this...the last two films, which both starred Daniel Craig, earned hundreds of millions of dollars ($1.180 billion to be exact, worldwide). It may take a few more years, but as Screen Rant puts it, the franchise is "simply too popular (and too big of a moneymaker) to disappear completely."

Basically in other words, you can probably wipe the tears away, as we doubt this will be the last the we see of Mr. Suave' Bond...James Bond that is.