The Mr. Robot and Bohemian Rhapsody star was heavily rumoured before the live announcement today
The producers of the yet unnamed 25th James Bond film have today announced the cast, including the confirmation that the Oscar-winning Rami Malek will be starring opposite Daniel Craig in what will likely be his very last outing as 007.
In a pre-recorded messaged streamed at the reveal event, Malek said: “I will be making sure Mr. Bond doesn’t have an easy ride in this,” implying that he will be playing the film's main villain as anticipated.
https://twitter.com/007/status/1121390256803254273?s=21
Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw will reprise their roles as M and Q respectively, whilst Naomi Harris, Lea Seydeoux, Rory Kinnear, and Jeffrey Wright will also all be returning to the franchise.
Newcomers to the series include Dali Benssalah, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, and David Dencik.
As announced last year, True Detective Season One's Cary Fukunaga will direct the film, which is based on a treatment from T2: Trainspotting screenwriter John Hodge that has since been reworked by Neil Purvis and Robert Wade.
The involvement of Fleabag star and Killing Eve writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a co-writer was also officially announced after rumours began circulating over the past few weeks.
The event took place outside of author Ian Flemming’s Goldeneye villa in Jamaica, where he wrote all of the novels and scenes from Dr. No and Live and Let Die were filmed.
Producer Barbara Broccoli reiterated that the country remains a 'spiritual home' for the character, along with revealing that is where we find the secret agent at the start of the film.
"Bond is not on active service when we start the film, he is actually enjoying himself in Jamiaca," she explained.
The film is expected to hit cinemas on April 8 next year.
