Word came last week that Rhys Ifans, best known for his role as Hugh Grant’s brilliant, bumbling, Welsh best friend in Notting Hill, would be starring in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Bond 23.
MTV Movies now have it that this was just a rumour after speaking to the actor at Comic-Con over in San Diego. I was quite looking forward to seeing what kind of role he’d be given, but sadly it looks like this isn’t to be.
It’s interesting that Ifans now looks to not be attached to the film, given that director Mendes was the one who confirmed his involvement. But Ifans probably knows best of all his own schedule, so we still have much to wait for in regards to who will be joining Daniel Craig.
Javier Bardem is thought to be the film’s antagonist, which I’m quite looking forward to, and Ralph Fiennes’ name has also been rumoured to be attached, though no confirmation on that yet. Naomie Harris is set to be taking the role of Moneypenny for the upcoming film, with Judi Dench expected to reprise her role as M.
Mendes is a brilliant director who won an Academy Award for Best Director for his debut, American Beauty, and this new Bond film has all the making of something brilliant, with a script written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Last Samurai) and veteran Bond writers, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Craig is my own personal favourite Bond to date, and though I was looking forward to seeing Ifans in a Bond film, I’m of course still excited that this is taking shape. Filming is expected to begin at the end of this year, with a release date scheduled for October next year, so we can expect more concrete casting details in the coming months. More news as and when we get it.
