The next Bond film — the 25th in the franchise with 50-year-old Daniel Craig making his fifth and last outing as British agent 007 with a licence to kill — has been given the working title, Shatterhand.

Industry publication Production Weekly has included a listing in its February 21 newsletter for “Bond 25 w/t Shatterhand”, with shooting due to start at Pinewood studios in England on April 6. The film was originally scheduled for release in autumn 2019 but was pushed back to February 2020. Its release date is now April 8, 2020.

The title of the 25th Bond movie has yet to be formally announced but the movie will be directed by the Japanese American Cary Joji Fukunaga, who was recruited when Britain’s Danny Boyle (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) pulled out after citing “creative differences” with the producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, of Eon Productions, and with Craig himself.

The title seems to be a reference to the alias — Dr Guntram Shatterhand — used by James Bond’s nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in Ian Fleming’s 1964 novel, You Only Live Twice, in which 007 goes to Japan where he finds his arch enemy living under an assumed name.

Ajay Chowdhury, an expert on Bond movies, told The Telegraph: “In the context of that story — Bond recovering from the murder of his wife Tracy on their wedding day at the hands of Ernst Stavro Blofeld — the involvement of Shatterhand is revealed at a pivotal point — could be a clue to the emotional journey 007 takes in Bond 25.”

Ajay, editor and spokesman for the James Bond International Fan Club which has members in 40 countries, added: “We know that the previous Bond leading lady, Lea Seydoux’s Madeline Swann from Spectre in 2015 will return. Perhaps her fate could be linked to a disguised return of Blofeld.

“Having said that, the Bond team have often used Fleming devices and completely retextualised them. Either way, the Bond fan community is always excited when a Fleming phrase furnishes the title of a Bond film.”

Others making a return include Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q and Naomi Harris as Eve Moneypenny.

The initial response to the working title has not been encouraging, with many fans slamming it as “ridiculous”.

A Twitter user suggested that Shatterhand was “dreamed up by a frantic producer five minutes before the pitch meeting”.

One user commented that the title could potentially backfire if critics didn’t rate the film, saying: “Shatterhand is a terrible title for a Bond movie and, if it ends up badly, reviewers will have a field day with it.”

Another questioned why all of the recent Bond film names have begun with the letter ‘S’, referencing (Quantum of) Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and now Shatterhand, wondering if the keyboard was jammed.

However, it was also suggested people got used to titles which initially seemed bizarre: “To be fair, Shatterhand is probably not much worse a title than Goldfinger; it’s just we’ve had 50 years for Goldfinger to bed in.”

Some have said the name could mean the actor Christoph Waltz reprising his role in Spectre as Blofeld.

But in October 2017 he told news website Talky Movie: “No, I’m sorry. I’m really sad, but that’s the tradition, that there is a new… name. Sorry. I would’ve liked to.”

But this does not mean that Blofeld, possibly the most menacing villain, will not return. It is quite possible that another actor will step into Christoph’s shoes.

As is common in Hollywood, the script is undergoing numerous rewrites.

Since Boyle and his writer, John Hodge, walked out, there have been new script drafts by Paul Haggis. Now Bourne Ultimatum writer Scott Z Burns has been brought in to rework the screenplay.

Ajay pointed out: “In the near 60-year history of the Bond franchise, there have been many twists and turns but in those previous, pre-digital years, such left turns were generally unscrutinised.

“From Sean Connery’s public recriminations with the producers in the mid-1960s, to George Lazenby’s shock resignation in 1969, to original producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman’s acrimonious business divorce in 1975, to the Bond company’s suing of the studio from 1989 to 1993, to the studio’s bankruptcy in 2010, the path to a new 007 adventure has never been easy.

“The early Bond films had a plethora of writers: thriller author Len Deighton, now 90, did uncredited work as one of five writers on the classic 1963 From Russia With Love; 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me famously had 12 writers and lost its announced director, Guy Hamilton, way back in 1975!”