Sam Smith to sing Spectre theme song

Despite British singer Sam Smith batting away rumors of singing the next Bond theme all summer, he emerged as a bookie's favorite. Those bets look likely to pay off now with EON Productions, MGM and Sony today announcing that Smith is belting out the Spectre theme -- and it's already in the can!

Co-written by Smith and his writing partner Jimmy Napes, Writing's On The Wall will be available for purchase via the usual channels on September 26. It is the first Bond theme in 50 years written and sung by a British male performer. "I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations," Smith said. "I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it."

Long-term Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli further fuelled the excitement surrounding the tune, describing it as “the most inspirational song" with an "extraordinary vocal performance". If that hasn't set your expectations high then their closing statement might, as the duo wrapped up their praise to say it "will surely be considered one of the greatest Bond songs of all time." Not too much pressure for Smith then, eh?

Directed by Sam Mendes, and starring Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Monica Bellucci and Christoph Waltz, Spectre opens in the UK on October 26 and the US on November 6.

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Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.