'Bohemian Rhapsody' Actor Rami Malek In Talks To Play Villain In 'Bond 25'

by Francis Leo Zaldivar / Feb 28, 2019 12:28 PM EST

Rami Malek could be the next antagonist in the James Bond franchise. The Bohemian Rhapsody actor is reportedly in the final stage of negotiation to star as villain in the upcoming movie Bond 25.

It was previously reported that the Oscar winner actor is being eyed for the role but his filming schedule for the final season of Mr. Robot has conflict with the shooting of Bond 25. Then Collider reported that WME has successfully negotiated Malek's shooting schedule to accommodate both productions. Malek is represented by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Apparently, the no deal has been finalized yet since both sides waited for the result of Oscars. Now that Malek had won the Best Actor award, he might probably ask for a higher pay.

Bond 25 producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli earlier announced on Twitter that the movie will be released on April 8, 2020, instead of February 2020. They did not say what caused the delay but there have been speculations that the movie is set to undergo script changes. The Bourne Ultimatum's Scott Z. Burns joined the production to rewrite the script.

Bond 25 was originally slated to premiere in November 2019 but the production has temporarily halted when director Danny Boyle departed the production in August 2018. True Detective director Cary Fukunaga eventually replaced him.

Now, more speculations emerged that the latest delay could be to accommodate Malek. The actor is scheduled to film Mr. Robot until July.

According to Variety, aside from the main villain, the producers of Bond 25 are still searching for an actor who will play the role of an American CIA agent and two more actresses to play the role of a new MI6 agent and a character similar to Olga Kurylenko's role in Quantum of Solace. Bond 25 director Cary Joji Fukunaga is reportedly eyeing Black Panther actress Lupita Nyong'o for one of the female roles.

Bond 25 will be the last James Bond movie of Daniel Craig. Aside from Craig, Lea Seydoux is confirmed to return as psychologist Madeleine Swann. Spectre stars Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw are also slated to reprise their respective roles.