With James Bond 24's December start date fast approaching, some casting news is finally beginning to surface.  First up, Daily Mail reports that Lea Seydoux (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) has signed on to play the "femme fatale" and "will meet fellow cast members, led by Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris, for a script rehearsal in late November,".  We reported a couple months ago that Seydoux was being eyed to play a "Lead Female (30-40) Attractive, sophisticated, cool and calm secret agent."  If Daily Mail is saying she's the "femme fatale", then it's possible we're still waiting for the "Bond Girl" and Seydoux'x character is in the mold of Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) from GoldenEye.

Hit the jump for more on James Bond 24.  The film opens November 6, 2015.

In August, we reported that the movie was casting for:

the main assassin, with the search specifically focussed on someone extremely physically fit and over 6′ 2″. Whoever wins the role will have several altercations with Daniel Craig’s 007 throughout the film and also a driving sequence. Former sports athletes will be under consideration along with anyone ‘very unusual’. The character has the working name of ‘Hinx’ (which may change before shooting starts) and is said to be between 30 and 45 years old.

This role is supposed to be an iconic villain in the vein of Jaws (Richard Kiel) or Oddjob (Harold Sakata), and according to Latino Review, Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista has landed the role, and he certainly fits the description.

LR also reports that filming is set to begin on December 6th, and will shoot mostly at Pinewood Studios in England with additional shooting set for Austria, Rome, and possibly Morocco.

With Skyfall, there was a press conference where new cast members were officially announced along with the title.  Hopefully Bond 24 will get the same treatment.