Composer Monty Norman has died at the age of 94, his family has confirmed.

A statement on his official website reads: “It is with sadness we share the news that Monty Norman died on 11th July 2022 after a short illness.”

• READ MORE: ‘No Time To Die’ review: Daniel Craig’s surprisingly emotional final fling

The musician, best known for his James Bond theme which was commissioned for Dr No in 1962 and used throughout the series, had a long career in the West End.

Norman had said he based his James Bond theme on an earlier piece of his called ‘Good Sign, Bad Sign’, originally created for a musical adaptation of VS Naipul’s A House for Mr Biswas.

Beyond Bond, Norman started his career as a singer for big bands in the 1950s and 1960s, before writing songs for musicals from the 1950s onwards, including his work on Belle in 1961.

Bond producer “Cubby” Broccoli had spotted Norman’s work in Belle and asked him to score Dr No.

In other 007 news, James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has promised that the 26th film in the franchise will “reinvent” the character.

“There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond,” she said. “We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”

2021’s No Time Die marked Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, with his iteration of the character being killed off at the end. Speculation about his replacement has since been rife.