Rami Malek's NO TIME TO DIE Bond Villain is “Bigger” Than Blofeld and "You'll Be Shocked"
Rami Malek and director Cary Joji Fukunaga have recently opened up about the Bond villain in No Time To Die, Safin. There have been a few bits of details shared about the character and a lot of rumors. One thing that the creative team wants you to know is that whatever you’re expecting from the film and its villain, prepare to be shocked.
During a recent interview with GQ, Malek said, “Let the rumors fly because no matter what you expect from this movie, you will be shocked when you watch the film. I will not add any fuel to that fire.”
Malek was asked about the popular rumor that Safin might turn out to be Dr. Julius No, the villain of the first Bond film Dr. No. But, he won’t confirm or deny the rumors. All he said was, “That’s interesting. I’m not going to bite on that, but I do think it’s interesting. They’ll just have to wait and see.”
Regardless of who Safin really is, Fukunaga and Malek are confident that they’ve created a frightening villain. Fukunaga says, “It’s tricky because you don’t want to make a cliché super villain, but you have to make someone that’s threatening not only to Bond and the people he loves but to the world at large,” he told GQ.
Malek added, “We really did sit down and think about what would truly frighten us, what would send a real panic into our hearts. It’s that sense of dread that sets it apart.”
The director then explains that Safin is going to be even “bigger” than Christoph Waltz’s Blofeld from Spectre, saying, “Once we got into Christoph Waltz/Blofeld territory, you can’t go small again. We had to think bigger. It’s tricky because you don’t want to make a cliché supervillain, but you have to make someone that’s threatening not only to Bond and the people he loves but to the world at large.”
Well, it’ll be interesting to see what Fukunaga and Malek have done with this new villain and I’m excited to see how this new Bond story plays out!
In the story, “Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.” That technology will reportedly be based on genetic warfare.
The movie also stars Daniel Craig as the secret agent, Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as Q, with Rory Kinnear as Tanner, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. New cast members include Dali Benssalah, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas, David Dencik, and Lashana Lynch.
No Time To Die is set to hit theaters on April 2nd, 2021.