The original plan was to have Bond 24 lead into Bond 25 as a complete two-film story, but that is no longer the case.

It looks like that all changed when Skyfall director Sam Mendes decided to return to Bond 24.

Mendes spoke with Charlie Rose about returning to the series for Bond 24.

Watch the full interview below (via /Film):

“I didn’t want to do it again initially because I felt like I didn’t have time to work it out,” Mendes said. “I also started a number of stories [in Skyfall] that were incomplete. I cast a new M, I cast a new Moneypenny, I cast a new Q, I cast a new Tanner. There was a missing piece now. I felt like there was a way to create a second part of the two-part story. And then, I started to get re-interested in it again. When they agreed to wait a little longer, and not go immediately, and not go with two movies, but one, which I felt very strongly about.

“What we tried to do, and audiences seemed to embrace in Skyfall, is that for the first time characters were allowed to age. And they were allowed to acknowledge the passing of the years. And they were allowed to acknowledge — in kind of a sly, mischievous way — the history of the franchise that they’d been part of. So there’s the DB5 coming out with the Bond theme. Well, the orgy of nostalgia, the noise an audience made, the first time I sat with an audience at that point, was enough to make me want to do it all over again. Because that was my 12 year old self that loved that moment and loved that car.”

It’s very interesting that Mendes fought hard to make Bond 24 not lead into Bond 25. That should, at the very least, signal that this next Bond film will be his last.

Still, the idea of Skyfall continuing into Bond 24 is very exciting. Skyfall was one of the best received films in the franchise ever, and having the whole creative team back telling a story in a similar way is a very exciting process.

Star Daniel Craig and Skyfall and Bond 24 scribe John Logan are signed on to Bond 25, so it’ll be interesting to see where it goes now that is no longer tied to Bond 24 and will likely not have Mendes at the helm.