Diamonds Are Forever, they say... and so is the wait for the next James Bond movie.

MGM confirmed Thursday that the release date for BOND 21 -- the 21st addition to the 007 saga -- will be pushed from November 2005 until sometime in 2006. The hold up is said to be the search for someone to direct the new flick.

Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson of Eon Productions conceded that it would be next to impossible to start production on the film originally scheduled to start next January without a director secured.

Besides the lack of a director, the apparent search for a new face to play Bond is holding up works. The Goldfinger has been pointed at several young stars to take over the Bond role from Pierce Brosnan -- who has never been confirmed to reprise his role as the suave secret agent. The 51-year-old British actor is the fifth person to get the license to play Bond, and has been widely credited with rejuvenating the once lagging franchise.

MGM has declined to say whether Brosnan would return. 'Currently he's not under contract to play James Bond,' a studio spokesman told the press. 'Once we get a director then I think we can get into casting.'

Some of the names thrown about to take over the 007 role include Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law and Orlando Bloom. So far no one has claimed an interest in her Majesty's secret agent man, either in front of the camera, or behind.

Though some of the up-and-coming directors, like Wicker Park's Paul McGuigan, have been talked about, the producers have turned out nothing but a big Dr. No.

Oddly, the one person who's apparently not in the running is Quentin Tarantino, even though the block busting Kill Bill director has publicly said he'd be glad to take a license to thrill.

The Bond franchise remains MGM's biggest money-maker, generating around $3.8 billion in revenues from the worldwide box office, home video and broadcast rights. The last two 007 flicks took in nearly $800 million themselves in the worldwide box office.