Rami Malek in Final Talks for ‘Bond 25’ Villain
Things seem to be going incredibly well for Rami Malek after winning his Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody. The actor, who portrayed Freddie Mercury, is now in final talks to play the villain in Bond 25, opposite Daniel Craig who will of course be playing Bond in, what could be, Craig’s last film as 007.
According to Variety, Malek was previously eyed for the role but due to conflicting schedules for the final season of Mr. Robot, negotiations fell short. However, Malek’s team have apparently organised his schedule to accommodate both productions, Bond 25 and Mr. Robot. But, nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet.
In addition to that, there are currently no details regarding the villainous role. Some rumors say that the villain would be a blind man and Wonder Woman actor, Said Taghmaoui was previously under consideration when Danny Boyle was directing the film. The film is now being directed by Cary Joji Funkunaga who previously worked on True Detective, Jane Eyre and Beasts of No Nation.
Lea Seydoux has also been confirmed to reprise her role as Madeleine Swann as well as Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes. Black Panther‘s Lupita Nyong’o has also been reportedly eyed for a key role, although it is currently unclear as to whether the actress has any interest joining the Bond franchise.
With Bond 25 confronted with a fair few obstacles, in fact, Scott Z. Burns was recently hired to rewrite Fukunaga’s script, it’s very hard to say who will be joining the next installation. However, the casting rumors are looking incredibly interesting. As a fan of Malek, I would absolutely love to see him as a Bond villain, I would also be interested to see what kind of role Lupita, if she signs onto the film, would be given.
Bond 25 is expected to arrive in theaters on February 14th 2020, the original date before the delays was October 25th 2019 in the UK and 8th November in the States. Filming is also expected to start at Pinewood Studios on the 4th March- after Boyle’s departure, filming was pushed from December 2018 to March 2019.
Are you excited for Bond’s next adventure? With Craig exiting the role as 007, who would you like to see play Bond next? let us know in the comments below.
James Lister is a University student in the UK, currently undertaking his Masters degree in Media & Communication. He has a strong passion for everything Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and Anime related.
