Oscar winner Rami Malek strongly tipped to play Bond 25 villain.
There have been rumours linking Rami Malek to Bond 25 for several months now. Now Collider is reporting that the actor, who recently won an Oscar for his performance as Freddy Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, is in final negotiations to play the villain.
The article cites an unnamed source as saying that his team has negotiated a shooting schedule to allow him to shoot both the final season of Mr Robot and Bond 25.
Source: Collider
Variety also discusses the situation with Malek but also discusses other roles. Firstly it says that the producers are looking two cast two female roles. One is a recent MI6 recruit while the other will be a “an accomplice similar to Olga Kurylenko’s character” from Quantum of Solace. According to Variety:
The two female leads seem to be the most open-ended as of now. Further chemistry reads with Craig are still being scheduled, since these two characters will spend the most amount of time with him on screen. It’s unknown how far along they are in this process.
And anyone hoping to see Jeffrey Wright back as Felix Leiter is likely to be disappointed. While the filmmakers are looking to cast a CIA agent, Variety’s sources “indicate that Billy Magnussen is the top choice to play the CIA operative that crosses paths with Bond, though it’s not known if an actual offer is on the table”.
The Variety piece also mentions that director Cary Joji Fukunaga “turned in his recent draft at the beginning of the year” but “no significant changes were made, and the producers and Craig were excited with what Fukunaga had delivered”. This contrasts with the reports that a script doctor had been hired to work on the script.
Source: Variety
Meanwhile, it emerged on the MI6 Community forums that a casting call went out in January that sounds like it is related to our previous article.
Possible spoiler: click here to reveal
A French casting agency put out a call for a girl aged 10-14 with blue eyes to play Léa Seydoux’s character as a child.
Although the casting call is no longer available online, presumably because it was filled, it was advertised on Twitter in early January. But a bit of digging unearthed this, which translates as:
Casting Teen F 12-year-old blonde with blue eyes for film with Léa Seydoux
A girl is sought for an important role in a feature film.
Profile sought:
– A girl with the appearance of a 12 year old (between 10 and 14 years), blonde with blue eyes.
It will be to play a young Léa Seydoux. Physical resemblance is very important.
We are looking for a sporty girl with character and confidence.
For this role you must know how to swim and be comfortable in the water.
The casting will take place in Paris in January. Spring shoot 2019.
Submit your child’s application by email with photos, age and size.
Deadline for application: Wednesday, January 16, 2019