Bond 24: Christoph Waltz Tipped For Blofeld?

Earlier this month Baz Bamigboye had it that actor Christoph Waltz would be playing the villain in Bond 24. At the time, there was also noise that he might be playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the evil head of SPECTRE who was the main antagonist during the Sean Connery-era.

Now, The Daily Mail reports that they've heard the talk as well and have added some more to the story. The British tabby claims Waltz's casting will be confirmed at a press conference to be held in the first week of December. It will be announced that he will be playing Franz Oberhauser, the son of the late Hans Oberhauser who was Bond's ski instructor and something of a surrogate father figure.

However, their sources claim the casting is a double bluff and Waltz is actually playing Blofeld. The villain's return has long been awaited, but was never able to happen due to a decades-long legal dispute over the character's rights. That dispute was finally settled around this time last year.

This Blofeld will get a fresh start. The tone is said to be more sophisticated and along the lines of Telly Savalas' version in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and less like Donald Pleasence (still my favorite incarnation) big screen reveal in 1967's "You Only Live Twice" or Charles Gray's turn in "Diamonds Are Forever". 

The studio declined to comment on the story.

Sam Mendes is once again directing the film. Veteran James Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have returned to perform rewrites. The duo have been the early writers on the film series since 1999's "The World is Not Enough,"and  they would often do the initial script drafts while other writers like Paul Haggis and John Logan would  polish. The pair were set to retire from the series after handing in their early drafts of "Skyfall," with Logan subsequently taking over the later drafts. Logan was writing the latest adventure solo.

Daniel Craig is back as Bond--we will also see the return of Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris reprising their roles from "Skyfall" as M, Q, and Moneypenny.

Casting for the film's key villain--This character is in line with the tall and imposing types from earlier films like Jaws (Richard Kiel) or Red Grant (Martin Shaw)--and the next Bond girl is now underway with announcements due over the next few months. Several Scandanavian actresses have tested for a secondary role, but the primary Bond girl in this film is said to likely be British.

Singer Rihanna is rumored to be making a cameo in the pic according to OK!.  Inglourious Basterds and Blue is the Warmest Colour star Léa Seydoux is said to play a femme fatale in the sequel. Guardians of the Galaxy's Drax the Destroyer and WWE superstar Dave Bautista is tipped to play a henchman named Hinx.

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will produce the new film.

Shooting begins on the pic December 6th, but prep is already underway on the Austria/Italy border in the tiny municipality of Obertilliach reports MI6. The Italian news agency ANSA (via THR) indicates that Rome will be the host for "no less than three key action scenes" in the film--with the Italy leg of the shoot expected to take place from February 19th to March 12th next year. Production will also take place in Morocco and at Pinewood Studios.

The sequel is still targeting a November 6th 2015 release