‘Bond 25’: Oscar Winner Rami Malek Will Play The Villain, Billy Magnussen Could Play A New Agent
Daniel Craigis returning to play James Bond once again in the still-untitledBond 25, and now a new report says that the British spy will be facing off against a villain to be played by recent Oscar winnerRami Malek. Plus, a separate report gives us a broader picture of what roles are left to fill – including a part that seems to be written specifically forGame NightactorBilly Magnussen.Collidersays we’re about to see a Rami Malek Bond villain: theBohemian Rhapsodystar is in final negotiations to play the baddie in the new film, whichwill be directedbyBeasts of No NationhelmerCary Joji Fukunaga. An earlier report suggested Malek’s schedule couldn’t accommodate bothBond 25and the final season of USA’s tech dramaMr. Robot, but those issues have seemingly been resolved. We don’t know anything about the character, but it seems as if the villain may hail from Northern Africa;Wonder WomanactorSaïd Taghmaoui, who is from Morocco,was previously up for this partback when Danny Boyle was going to direct.
Meanwhile,Varietyreports that two female roles have yet to be filled: “one a new MI6 agent and the other an accomplice similar to Olga Kurylenko’s character inQuantum of Solace.” (In that 2008 movie, Craig’s second film as Bond, Kurylenko played Camille, a woman out for revenge after her family was murdered.)
The film also features a new American CIA agent akin to Felix Leiter, the agent played by Jeffrey Wright in bothCasino RoyaleandQuantum of Solace. That’s the part which appears to be earmarked for Billy Magnussen, theIngrid Goes Westactor who recently had a small part inVelvet Buzzsawand previously worked with Funukaga on the Netflix seriesManiac. According to Variety, “Fukunaga’s most recent draft had the character written younger to fit Magnussen’s age,” so while an offer isn’t on the table yet, it seems like it’s his part to lose.
Speaking of the script:
Fukunaga turned in his recent draft at the beginning of the year, and while reports surfaced that major rewrite work was done to the script, sources say no significant changes were made, and the producers and Craig were excited with what Fukunaga had delivered.
Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, andBen Whishawwill be reprising their roles in this sequel, andSeydoux’s returnis especially interesting because “Bond girls” rarely show up in two movies in a row. Considering what happens at the end ofSpectrebetween Bond and Seydoux’s Dr. Madeleine Swann, many fans are theorizing thatBond 25will incorporate at least one major element fromOn Her Majesty’s Secret Service. (I won’t spoil it, but those who have seen it will undoubtedly know what I’m referencing.)
Production is expected to begin sometime this spring, and the twenty-fifth Bond filmwill arrive in theatersonApril 10, 2020.
