Rhys Ifans, who will star in Roland Emmerich’s Shakespeare conspiracy feature Anonymous later this year, a role that reportedly won him the villainous role as The Lizard in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man, is now reportedly set to join the cast of director Sam Mendes’ as-yet-untitled James Bond 23.
A source tells The Telegraph’s Richard Eden, “Ifans will appear in the film, as well as Javier Bardem, who will play the baddie… Much of the filming will take place in South Africa.”
Ifans starred alongside Daniel Craig, who will once again return to play James Bond, in Roger Michell’s Enduring Love in which the two actors kiss and is quoted by The Telegraph saying, “I spent the whole shoot winding up Dan Craig saying, ‘Only four days to go now, Dan, darling, before our snogging scene.’ Even now, after two Bonds, Dan still maintains that the hardest stunt he’s ever done was getting to grips with my mouth.”
There’s no word on what role Ifans will play, but at this point it certainly seems like most sources are convinced Javier Bardem will play the film’s villain, even though Bond producers have yet to make the official announcement. Also, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes have recently been rumored to have roles in the film. Harris is said to be taking on the iconic role of Miss Moneypenny, while Fiennes is rumored to be a second villain.
So far the only confirmed cast members are Craig and Judi Dench returning to play M. The film is set for a November 9, 2012 release with filming expected to begin in October in South Africa and India.
