Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista is rumoured to have been cast in the role of a villainous assassin in Bond 24.
Bautista, a former wrestler, played Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel summer blockbuster. It is this year’s best performing film so far with a worldwide box office take in excess of $680m.
According to the website Latino Review, Bautista has landed the role of the main villain’s henchman assassin Hinx. A leaked casting call memo revealed the film’s producers were looking for “an imposing extremely physically fit actor” said to have several fights with Bond. The actor would need stunt training and according to the memo the filmmakers required “someone very unusual, possibly from a sports background”.
Director Sam Mendes and producers Eon were said to be on the hunt for an actor to become a villain as iconic as Jaws (played by Richard Kiel in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker).
The 24th Bond movie will mark Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as 007. He will be joined by Naomie Harris, who reprises her role as Moneypenny, along with Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Whishaw as Q and Rory Kinnear’s Bill Tanner.
French actress Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour) is also reported to have signed on for a role in the as-yet-untitled 007 adventure.
The follow up to Skyfall is due to start shooting in December and is scheduled for release on October 23, 2015.