Rami Malek Had Just One Condition For Playing The ‘Bond 25’ Villain
Rami Malek, best known from his role as Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot and for playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, is set to play the new Bond villain that will face off against Daniel Craig in Bond 25. But according to The Mirror, Malek only accepted the role on one condition: the villain isn’t a religious fundamentalist or Arabic-speaking terrorist.
“It’s a great character and I’m very excited. But that was one thing that I discussed with Cary [Fukunaga],” he said.
“I said, ‘We cannot identify him with any act of terrorism reflecting an ideology or a religion. That’s not something I would entertain, so if that is why I am your choice then you can count me out.'”
Malek claims that Fukunaga was fine with this demand and had a vision for the character that was different from the standard terrorists portrayed in media.
“It’s another extremely clever script from the people who have figured out exactly what people want in those movies,” Malek said, adding that he does feel a significant weight on his shoulders given that Bond is such an iconic character that many people have grown with throughout their life.
But not all is well on the set of Bond 25, at least according to source that spoke to The Daily Mail. Per The Inquisitr, Fukunaga is reportedly not well-liked, and the crew is on the verge of “mutiny” after the director went missing for hours to play video games. After the setback, Fukunaga reportedly asked the team to work over Father’s Day.
Rami Malek Demanded His Bond Villain Had No Religious Or Ideological Affiliations https://t.co/jVd84WeZLa pic.twitter.com/wlwEZjZAQt
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 3, 2019
“He turned up three hours late which p***ed everyone off. There was a big bust up because they’re so behind,” a source said, adding that most of the crew weren’t willing to give up their Father’s Day to work on the movie. The source also suggested the movie is “doomed.”
It’s not the first time that Bond 25 has been said to be cursed. Aside from the Fukunaga incident, the movie has had many hiccups during its development. Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting director Danny Boyle left the movie’s production in August of last year after previously clashing with Craig over the casting of the villain. But apparently, “radical” script changes were the final straw that pushed him to depart.
Outside of Bond 25, Malek is set to star in the fourth and final season of Mr. Robot, which Business Times reports might be premiering in late October on USA Network. The third season aired in 2017 and due to creator Sam Esmail’s busy schedule, the final season has taken longer than usual to hit the screen.
