Could Rami Malek be about to follow in the footsteps of Christoph Waltz, Mads Mikkelsen and Javier Bardem? The answer is “hmm.”
The actor is very likely to get an Oscar nomination soon for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, and his star is on the rise. According to Variety, he could be up for the villain role in Bond 25, too. But this is all quite tricky.
Danny Boyle was rumoured to have pulled out of directing Bond 25 over a clash with producers about who would play the villain of the piece. Boyle reportedly wanted Claes Bang (Steven Moffat’s new Dracula) to play Bond’s antagonist in the next instalment, meeting resistance from Craig and the higher ups. Malek as villain would be an impressive announcement for new director Cary Fukunaga after all that drama, but there’s a catch. Malek is supposed to start filming the last season of Mr Robot for USA Network in March, which would get in the way of him joining the Bond 25 cast, unless they pushed production back until July when Mr Robot is due to wrap …but this seems unlikely.
Daniel Craig is still set to return as Bond one final time with the 25th 007 flick. News recently broke that Léa Seydoux will also return alongside him as Madeleine Swan, and two other actresses are being sought for further roles – an MI6 agent, and a “mystery woman.”
The film’s villain, however, still seems less than certain, and the complications surrounding the project continue for now.
Bond 25 currently has a Valentines Day, 2020 release date. Meanwhile, Craig is busy shooting Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, which he signed up for after Bond 25 hit more delays.