Earlier this month it was reported that two-time Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained) is wanted for the main villain role in Bond 24, and now The Daily Mail is claiming that Waltz is set to play 007’s arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
According to the paper, EON “will announce the star is playing an unknown character called Franz Oberhauser, son of the late Hans Oberhauser, a ski instructor who acted as a father figure to Bond. But senior sources believe the casting is a double bluff worthy of 007 himself and that Waltz is actually playing Blofeld.” They go on to quote an unnamed source as stating that: “Christoph Waltz is playing Blofeld in the next Bond film. The tone of the 007 films has changed significantly in recent years and the producers have changed the character to fit in with the new-look 007.”
If true, Waltz will join actors Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas and Charles Gray in portraying the character in the official Bond series, while Max von Sydow also played the villain in 1983’s unofficial Never Say Never Again. Blofeld’s inclusion in Bond 24 has been rumoured since last year, when EON Productions reached a deal with the estate of Kevin McClory, paving the way for the character to reappear in the spy series.
Bond 24 opens on October 23rd 2015 in the UK and November 6th 2015 in the States. The film will reunited director Sam Mendes with Skyfall stars Daniel Craig (James Bond), Ralph Fiennes (M), Ben Whishaw (Q) and Naomie Harris (Moneypenny), while Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) is reportedly set to play the villain’s henchman, and Lea Seydoux (Blue Is the Warmest Color) is also attached as a “femme fatale”.
