In September 2005, Martin Campbell and director of photography Phil Méheux were scouting Paradise Island in the Bahamas as a possible location for the film. On 6 October 2005, Martin Campbell confirmed Casino Royale would film in the Bahamas and "maybe Italy". Further shooting in the UK was scheduled for Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, the cricket pavilion at Eton College (although that scene was cut from the completed movie), and the Millbrook Vehicle Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. Pierce Brosnan fulfilled his original contract for four Bond films with Die Another Day (2002), and the producers invited him to return for a fifth film and was in negotiations to star in Casino Royale. (Screenwriters Purvis and Wade confirmed that their Casino Royale script was written with Brosnan in mind.) Brosnan described how he found out that he had lost the role. He stated that he was working on another film in The Bahamas when his agent informed him that negotiations had broken down with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. The producers were not quite sure what they wanted to do, and would contact Brosnan the following week.
He claims to have worked behind the scenes with the Fleming family, and believed this was the reason why filmmakers finally went ahead with Casino Royale. Tarantino also said he would have set it in the 1960s and would have only made it with Pierce Brosnan as Bond. In February 2005, Martin Campbell, who previously directed GoldenEye (1995), was announced as the film's director. Later in 2005, Sony led a consortium that purchased MGM, allowing Sony to gain distribution rights starting with the film.