Oscar Winner Rami Malek In Talks To Join Daniel Craig’s ‘Bond 25’ As The Villain
Recent Oscar-Award-winning actor Rami Malek might be sharing screen space with Daniel Craig in the latest Bond movie, to be directed by Cary Fukunaga. An exclusive report from Collider confirms that, while initial reports had written off the Mr. Robot star from being in contention for the role, things are very much in the final stages of negotiations. Reports cited scheduling conflicts between the Bond film and the final season of Mr. Robot, but it seems that those issues may have now been resolved to accommodate for Malek’s inclusion to “Bond 25,” as yet untitled.
Malek just won the Oscar for Best Actor at the 2019 Academy Awards for his performance in Bohemian Rhapsody. This definitely raises his sought-after status in the industry as these reports come on the heel of his win. Malek rose to fame with the USA Network drama Mr. Robot, co-starring Christian Slater, but prior to that he had mostly been seen in character roles or as a supporting actor. Casual audiences will definitely recognize him for roles in films like the Night At The Museum franchise. While in the industry for years, Malek’s time to shine is now, and his contributions to the next Bond movie will definitely be an interesting role to watch out for.
Bond 25 will be directed by Cary Fukunaga, taking over the helming responsibilities from the previous director of the franchise, Sam Mendes. Fukunaga is said to be reworking the script and the production is all set to start the spring, as per recent update from Variety. The film is also said to be Daniel Craig’s last turn as the international man of mystery, but the same was said during the release of the last Bond movie, Spectre, as well.
The new Bond movie has struggled to get off the ground, with multiple directors joining and leaving development, and Craig himself causing a stir with his statements about no longer wanting to play the iconic screen character. In an infamous interview with Time Out in 2015, Craig very emphatically conveyed his thoughts about continuing as James Bond.
“Now? I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”
While the actor has clearly gotten over that moment as well, the fate of the role beyond Bond 25 remains unclear. Critically acclaimed director Danny Boyle was reported by The Sun to have left the directing role prior to Fukunaga, due to creative differences with Craig. This new Bond movie is reportedly the last for Craig, and it remains to be seen how his performance will be affected by all this back and forth.
Bond 25 is currently set to be released on April 8, 2010.
