It would appear that the filmmakers behind the James Bond franchise have begun using the Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner pool of the last few years to help them find an appropriate villain. For Skyfall, Sam Mendes turned to Javier Bardem - who took home the aforementioned prize for his turn in the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men - and now it's being reported that the upcoming Bond 24 is looking to bring on two-time Academy Award winner Christopher Waltz to square off against 007.
The news comes from The Daily Mail, which says that the Django Unchained star has joined the project - but notes that there is a shade of mystery regarding exactly what role he is playing. One inside source told the British newspaper that Waltz is playing a "nemesis of sorts" -which makes us naturally think "villain" - but other insiders were a bit more vague on the subject. Words like "significant" and "complex" are tossed around, and one source said that we shouldn't necessarily just assume that he is the new central antagonist.
What certainly supports the theory that Christoph Waltz is the new Bond villain is the simple fact that it's 90% of what he's been doing in Hollywood since dropping everyone's jaws with his performance in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. While he would later win an Oscar for his heroic role in Tarantino's Django Unchained, his upcoming slate is filled with titles where he is the bad guy - including Horrible Bosses 2, Big Eyes and Tarzan. And let's also not forget that he was also brought on to do his villain thing in Green Hornet, Water For Elephants, The Three Musketeers and Epic.
It's because of Christoph Waltz's endless parade of villain roles that I'm really hoping that he's actually not the villain in Bond 24, but instead playing a different role entirely. Sure, Waltz is fantastic at playing a villain, but it's a crime to pigeonhole someone with so much talent, and I think it would be a rather stale move for the James Bond franchise to use him in that way. It's a choice that is a little too obvious, and doing the opposite would be a great way to subvert audience expectation.
But mine isn't the only opinion: do you want to see Christoph Waltz play the next James Bond villain opposite Daniel Craig? Answer our poll below, and look out for more news on the 007 front, as the film is scheduled to start production next month in advance of its November 6, 2015 release date.
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