Said Taghmaoui Was Set to Play Villain in Bond 25 Before Production Paused

Said Taghmaoui says he was cast as the main villain in Bond 25 before production was paused due to Danny Boyle’s exit. Taghmaoui, who played Sameer in Wonder Woman, told The National (per Variety) that he had been cast in the project but that his status is now uncertain.

“I’m supposed to do the next James Bond, playing the lead bad guy,” Taghmaoui said. “I was cast by Danny Boyle, and just now he left the project, so of course there’s some uncertainty…. We don’t know who the director will be, and the producers don’t know if they’re going to go Russian or Middle East with the baddie right now. I literally just received a message saying: ‘If they go Middle East, it’s you. If they go Russian, it’s someone else.’ It’s the story of my life. Always on that line between something that could change my life and something that disappears.”

Boyle left the film last month, with some reports suggesting the studio wanted to cast Tomasz Kot to play a Russian villain in the film.

Taghmaoui said of the possible stereotyping of an Arab villain, “If you knew how many movies I refuse because of my conscience, honestly. There is a lot of cliché and stereotyping, and you always have to try to be real – at least that’s what I try to do. There’s always a danger, but there are also always people with good intentions and people with bad intentions. Artistically it’s great to play bad guys, but you have to watch out for the cliché and the propaganda.”

Bond 25 currently has no release date as the studio seeks a new director.