Bond 25: Rami Malek Refused to Play a Religious Villain

After Christoph Waltz in Spectre, it's now Rami Malek's turn to be the villain going up against Daniel Craig's James Bond. We still don't know what Malek's baddie is up to, but Malek had one condition before he took the role—the villain can't be motivated by religion.

Talking to Mirror, Malek, who is of Egyptian descent, explained that he didn't want his Bond villain to be motivated by religion or ideology. He explains:

"It's a great character and I'm very excited… But that was one thing that I discussed with [director Cary Fukunaga].

"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'… But that was clearly not his vision. So he's a very different kind of terrorist."

We don't know much about Malek's villain yet, but it's said to draw from his Mr. Robot roots, with this baddie being a "high-tech villain" who somehow forces Bond out of retirement. Funny that the movie would bring Bond back to work since this is said to be Craig's final 007 film before retiring from the character.

Besides Malek, new members of the cast include the likes of Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049) and Jeffrey Wright (Westworld). Returning actors include Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, Ben Whishaw, and Lea Seydoux.

Bond 25 is set to hit theaters in April 2020.

See Also: Danny Boyle Says The Batman Star Robert Pattinson Should Be The Next James Bond