Sam Mendes Will Direct New James Bond Movie, After All

Joel Ryan/Invision/Associated Press Sam Mendes at the opening night of his “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” musical in June.

As they say in the movies, James Bond will return â€" and so, too, will the director Sam Mendes, who will oversee that long-lived secret agent’s next cinematic adventure, despite a previous declaration that he had passed on the film project.

Sony Pictures Entertainment and the longtime James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said on Thursday that the 24th official entry in the 007 spy series will star Daniel Craig and will be directed by Mr. Mendes, the Academy Award-winning director of “American Beauty” and “Revolutionary Road.”

There seemed little doubt that Mr. Mendes would be sought out for the new movie after having directed “Skyfall” â€" yes, “Skyfall” â€" the oddly named if tremendously successful 2012 Bond film, which sold more than $1.1 billion in tickets worldwide and yielded the Oscar-winning title song performed by Adele.

But in March, Mr. Mendes said he had made “a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie,” pointing to a busy theater schedule that included a new production of “King Lear” and a musical version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

In a statement on Thursday, however, Mr. Mendes said, “I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honor all my theater commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24. I very much look forward to taking up the reins again, and to working with Daniel Craig, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time.”

The new James Bond movie will be written by John Logan, a screenwriter of “Skyfall,” and will hopefully have a better title. It is planned for release in the United States on November 6, 2015, while British audiences will receive it on October 23 of that year.