No Time To Die villain Rami Malek promises "you will be shocked" by new James Bond movie

Rami Malek in the No Time to Die trailer
(Image credit: MGM)

Whatever you're expecting from No Time to Die, prepare to be shocked. Rami Malek, who plays the villain Safin in Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, has promised as much in a new interview. 

“Let the rumours fly,” Malek told GQ, “because no matter what you expect from this movie, you will be shocked when you watch the film. I will not add any fuel to that fire.”

While we wait for the release of the movie following a series of seemingly never-ending delays, there have been plenty of rumours about the plot of No Time to Die spreading across the internet. One theory posits that Safin will turn out to be Dr. Julius No, the villain of the appropriately titled Dr. No – the very first Bond film, released back in 1962 and starring the late Sean Connery as 007.

When GQ asked Malek about this theory, he responded: “That’s interesting. I’m not going to bite on that, but I do think it’s interesting. They’ll just have to wait and see.”

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga seems confident that they’ve created a frightening villain in Safin, though. “It’s tricky because you don’t want to make a cliché super villain, but you have to make someone that’s threatening not only to Bond and the people he loves but to the world at large,” he told GQ.

Malek added: “We really did sit down and think about what would truly frighten us, what would send a real panic into our hearts. It’s that sense of dread that sets it apart.”

No Time to Die is – finally – due for release on April 2 2021 (finger crossed). The movie currently adorns the front of the Total Film magazine, with the lead feature including much more info about the next Bond movie. Make sure you order a copy here.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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