Christoph Waltz confirmed to play Bond villain in ‘Spectre’

Skyfall director Sam Mendes conducted a livestream Thursday morning from the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios in England to reveal the title of the twenty-fourth James Bond film and confirm casting rumors that have been circulating for months. The film, titled Spectre, will return Daniel Craig as Bond for the fourth time and star Christoph Waltz as a mysterious villain.

It has been rumored for months that Waltz will play Bond’s old nemesis Ernst Stabro Blofeld, but the Bond Twitter reported Thursday that he will portray a new character named Oberhauser. The official 007 series has been unable to use the iconic cat-stroking Blofeld or his terrorist organization SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) since 1971’s Diamonds are Forever due to a series of legal rights, but as proven by the upcoming film’s name, the dispute has finally been settled. The first Spectre poster features a bullet hole which shatters glass into seven distinct tentacles, a clear reference to the octopus ring SPECTRE members wore in Thunderball.

“A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre,” states the film’s official synopsis.

Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear will all reprise their Skyfall characters in the film. New additions to the cast include Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista as Mister Hinx and Sherlock’s Andrew Scott as Denby. The Matrix‘s Monica Bellucci and Inglourious Basterds‘ Lea Seydoux have been confirmed as the new Bond girls. Mendes will return to direct the film, despite his claims after Skyfall that his London stage obligations would keep him from being involved in its follow-up. While some fans may be disappointed that Mendes’ continued participation means his rumored replacement Christopher Nolan will not be involved, Mendes will be working with two of Nolan’s collaborators for the film – Interstellar‘s director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema and Nolan’s longtime editor Lee Smith.