He’s been working in the industry for nearly two decades, but last year marked a monumental achievement for Chiwetel Ejiofor, leading Steve McQueen‘s Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave. While he’s lined up a few promising modestly budgeted dramas (Triple Nine and Z For Zachariah) Hollywood is now calling with one of their biggest franchises.
According to The Wrap, Ejiofor is being eyed by the Bond crew to take the villain role for their Skyfall follow-up. With Daniel Craig returning, there’s no details yet on the precise character, but the Children of Men star is said to be the frontrunner, but he hasn’t signed anything yet. Sam Mendes is also planning to return, along with writer John Logan, but cinematographer Roger Deakins won’t be taking a spot on the crew.
While we’d much rather see the actor follow in the footsteps of Craig as the next Bond, seeing this side of Ejiofor might prove interesting, rather than having an actor that clearly chews up the scenery on the baddie side. With Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw all set to come back, there’s said to be two major female roles to cast, one being the new Bond girl and another of Scandinavian origin that has a brief relationship with Bond.
Bond 24 will land in October and November of 2015, in the U.K. and U.S., respectively, and it probably won’t be titled Come and Dive.
What do you think of Ejiofor as a Bond villain? Would you rather see him hold off a few years and take up the mantle for Craig?