A recurring trend in Hollywood is for actors who’ve recently won an Academy Award to sign on to a big budget blockbuster as one of their first projects in the aftermath, and the more cynical among us might think that the decision is a financially motivated move designed to capitalize on their uptick in popularity and name value.
Halle Berry accepted a $14 million offer to headline Catwoman, which still ranks as one of the worst superhero movies ever made, so it can often be a double-edged sword. However, No Time to Die‘s Rami Malek has been open in admitting that he didn’t need much convincing to play villain Lyutsifer Safin shortly after landing Best Actor for Bohemian Rhapsody, because James Bond has been his favorite franchise since childhood.
In a recent interview with Heroic Hollywood, the Mr. Robot star was asked if he could see himself boarding the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that his lifelong dream of sharing the screen with 007 has been ticked off the bucket list, and he sounds open to the idea.
“Yeah, I mean, look at what Kevin Feige does with those Marvel movies. It’s outstanding. I mean, the guy is… he is special, there is no doubt about it. And the world he has created for all of us where we can be reintroduced to these comic book characters in a way that at sometimes elevates them, literally, off the page is unique.
To have a taste of that with a character that has jumped off the page from Ian Fleming’s books, and I remember reading Casino Royale and From Russia with Love as a kid and thinking, ‘Wow, it would be hard to translate that character into something that is elevated from the books’, and you have a guy like Daniel Craig who comes in on Casino Royale and does it so elegantly so powerfully, so emotionally poignantly that you realize, ‘Yeah, yeah’. I mean, there’s there’s never a world where you don’t think why not?
Why not try to take it to a different level on a franchise movie? This is my favorite franchise. I’m kind of fearless in saying that because it just is. It’s a truth that relies on me, but yeah, the Marvel films, of course, always interested if we can find a new character, and something that someone’s never seen before. There are a lot of characters that I think deserve their own story. And if I found one, yeah, sure. I’d be interested. No doubt.”
Safin isn’t going to go down as one of the greatest antagonists James Bond has ever faced, but Malek does his best with the material he’s given. More franchise offers are sure to be coming his way in the future, so it’ll be interesting to see if Kevin Feige’s outfit to end up extending an invitation his way at any point.
