Photo: Nicola Dove – © 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.(LONDON) — The James Bond film No Time to Die may have been repeatedly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on motion picture distribution, but its villain, Rami Malek, is still staying spoiler-free.
Malek, who won an Oscar for playing Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, officially plays a villain named Safin. However, since sharp-eyed 007 fans got a look at the movie’s trailer, they noticed one set looked like the 1963 lair of infamous — and titular — James Bond villain, Dr. No.
For his part, Malek is staying mum. “Let the rumours fly… I will not add any fuel to that fire,” he coyly told British GQ, adding of Daniel Craig’s last go ’round as the suave super spy, “no matter what you expect from this movie, you will be shocked when you watch the film.”
Aside from contractual obligation to secrecy, Malek literally couldn’t say “No” — to the movie, that is.
“Look, there was no way I was going to say no,” he tells the magazine. “It’s a 007 film, man. They’re a part of our cinematic history…An opportunity to go toe-to-toe, head-to-head with Daniel and give them all I got? That’s something I’ll look back on as as big as it gets.”
No Time to Die also stars returning 007 players Ralph Fiennes, Jeffrey Wright, and Christoph Waltz, as well as Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch. It was initially scheduled for an April release, and then was bumped from a November bow to now open theatrically on April 2, 2021.
By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.