Bond 22 Casts its Villain?
November 17, 2007

After much anticipation, the long developed Bond 22 film has reportedly cast its villain in The Diving Bell and Butterfly actor Mathieu Amalric. Amalric, a french actor currently receiving rave reviews in The Diving Bell and Butterfly, was tight lipped about the casting during a lunch meeting with Bell director Julian Schnabel, neither conforming or denying his involvement in Bond 22, the next chapter in the James Bond franchise, starring new Bond, Daniel Craig.

As reported by Fox News columnist Roger Friedman, Mathieu Amalric was the hot topic of discussion on Thursday and, despite the silence of Amalric, the casting of Matieu Amalric as the next Bond villain "is a done deal." Although the Fox News report goes on to say that fans should expect an official announcement and confirmatyion sometime soon, Mathieu Amalric still remains relatively unknown to North American audiences on a wider scale. As some fans will recall, Amalric recently appeared in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antionette and also landed roles in the Steven Spielberg directed Munich, which also starred Daniel Craig.

Despite the apparent casting of Mathieu Amalric as the Bond 22 villain, who Casino Royale star Eva Green previously suggested would be Vesper Lynd’s French boyfriend, the Bond 22 project has come under scrutiny given the recent writer's stike. Although Columbia Pictures' Angels and Demons became the first casualty of the strike, the studio maintains the Bond 22 project won't be affected. Just prior to the strike, screenwriter Paul Haggis turned in a draft of Bond 22 just under the wire of the strike, which, as some sources report, addresses concerns some were having with earlier drafts.

Bond 22 has been in development for years, dating back to 2001, but after the massive success of Casino Royale the project picked up steam and was pushed forward once Daniel Craig took over the role of James Bond.