Back in December it was reported that Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek had been wanted for the main villain role in Bond 25, but was unable to commit to the project due to scheduling conflicts with the next season of his acclaimed TV drama Mr. Robot.
Well, with production having since been pushed back, Collider is reporting that Malek – who won the Oscar for Best Actor this past weekend for his role as Freddie Mercury – is now in final negotiations with Eon and is expected to close his deal to star opposite Daniel Craig’s 007.
Meanwhile, Variety is reporting that the casting search continues for three other new roles: an American CIA agent similar to Felix Leiter (which Maniac actor Billy Magnussen is said to be circling) along with a female MI6 agent and “an accomplice” in the vein of Olga Kurylenko’s Camille Montes from Quantum of Solace.
SEE ALSO: Rami Malek comments on Bond 25 villain rumours
Furthermore, Variety’s sources also suggest that the recent rewrite from Scott Z. Burns did not include any major changes to director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s script, and that Craig and the producers are very pleased with what the filmmaker has in store for Bond’s next outing.
In addition to Daniel Craig, Bond 25 will see the return of Ben Whishaw as Q, Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Lea Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swann.
