It was only last month that producer Barbara Broccoli said that they
had started their search for the villain for the 24th
James Bond film. Today, numerous trade press reports claim that the top
contender for the
role is Chiwetel Ejiofor - although no offer had been made yet.
Ejiofor recently won a BAFTA (and was Oscar nominated) for Best Actor
for his leading role in "12 Years A Slave". The 36 year-old British
actor would be following in the footsteps of Oscar-winner Javier Bardem,
who played Silva in the record-breaking 2012 Bond film "Skyfall".
Above: British actor Chiwetel
Ejiofor
|
Broccoli gave the update a couple of weeks ago in London
at the launch of the Bond In Motion exhibition in Covent Garden. She told
reporters: "We're
in the early stages. We start filming at the end of the year
and the next film will come out at the end of 2015... We haven't
chosen the villain
yet, so we're hoping to be selecting someone in the next couple
of months. "
It is not unusual for a Bond production to target an actor well in advance
of an offer being made. "Skyfall" was written with Javier Bardem
in mind long before the actor was formally approached to play the role.
In fact, writers Purvis & Wade told MI6
Confidential magazine in issue #24 that they had at one time planned for him to the villain in "The
World Is Not Enough" twelve years prior.
Ejiofor is currently filming post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure "Z
for Zachariah" and is scheduled to shoot crime heist movie "Triple
Nine" with Aaron Paul and Kate Winslet next.
As on the casting front, EON Productions is said to be scouting for both
British and Scandinavian actress for two Bond
Girl roles in the
film. It will not be too surprising for long time Bond fans that
Scandinavia is being plundered again for Bond Girl talent given the long
roster so
far, including Maud Adams, Kristina
Wayborn, Britt Ekland and
Izabella Scorupco.
Bond 24 will be released on October 23rd in the UK and November
6th in the USA.
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