When it comes to Bond movies, iconography is everything. Even directorMartin Campbell’s strikingly differentCasino Royalemaintained certain aspects of Bond lore that have become tradition, like the martini, the “Bond, James Bond” line, the Bond girl(s), and of course, the Bond villain. It’s that last one that can be particularly tricky, as Bond villains tend to be either just the right amount of over-the-top (see:Skyfall’s Silva) or they tip over into cartoonish territory (see: a lot of other Bond villains).
So it’s with great anticipation that fans are eager to see who playsDaniel Craig’s foil in the upcomingBond 25, and we now have a bit of an idea of the direction in which they’re going. Buried inVariety’sreport confirmingLea Seydouxwill reprise herSpectrerole in the film is the news thatRami Malekwas being eyed for theBond 25villain role. However, his schedule shootingMr. Robot’s final season—which is poised to run from March through July of next year—appears to have prevented him from moving forward, although Variety says things didn’t progress so far as for Eon to straight-up offer him the part. Production onBond 25is scheduled to begin in March as well.
This is an interesting tidbit, and Malek is red-hot at the moment coming off his acclaimed performance as Freddie Mercury in the filmBohemian Rhapsody, which could net him an Oscar nomination. It’s also interesting becauseSaid Taghmaoui, who is of Moroccan descent, previously saidhe was under considerationto play theBond 25villain whenDanny Boylewas directing the film. Malek is of Egyptian descent.
When Boyle leftBond 25over creative differences, it was reported that the script he worked on withJohn Hodgewas being tossed and a new one was being written. That’s still true, but with Malek’s consideration, could it be possible aspects of the Boyle/Hodge script are being used in this new version of the film thatCary Joji Fukunagais directing? Or it’s also entirely possible that I’m reading far too much into this.
Whatever the case, Malek would’ve been exciting casting, and I’m eager to see who Fukunaga and Eon settle on to square off against Craig in whatcouldbe the actor’s final outing as Bond. Just please don’t bringChristoph Waltzback. Let’s all pretend thatSpectreBlofeld nonsense never happened, okay?
