June 17, 2009 | by Ross Miller 

Rumor Patrol: Michael Sheen To Play Blofeld In Bond 23

Michael Sheen - Blofeld

The inevitable wild rumors have already been started about the next Bond movie, which is currently untitled and is being referred to as simply Bond 23 for the time being. British tabloid newspaper The Daily Express is reporting that Frost/Nixon star Michael Sheen is in talks to not only star in Bond 23 as the villain, but to play the legendary Bond villain, Blofeld. Before we get onto more info and discussion on this “news,” just know that this is an UNSUBSTANTIATED RUMOR.

It was recently announced that Peter Morgan is one of the writers for Bond 23, which may be the basis of this Sheen rumor. Morgan wrote Frost/Nixon, The Queen and The Damned United, all of which starred Sheen in leading roles, so Morgan being added to the writing roster of Bond 23 may have sparked rumors of Sheen’s involvement because of their past collaborations. The Daily Express’ source is “unnamed” (read: questionable and unreliable) but nonetheless they seem to have a quote backing up the story:

“Michael is hot property right now and it is felt that he’s the right man to bring Blofeld back to life… Michael was a Bond fan in his youth, so this would be a dream role for him.”

The character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld was first appeared in From Russia With Love, and was last seen in the non-canon Bond film, Never Say Never Again (in case you couldn’t work it out for yourself, he was also the inspiration for Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil). If this news turns out true (which it’s very unlikely to be), Sheen would bring Blofeld to the big-screen for the first time in over 25 years.

Beyond the rumor in general being ridiculous (really, would Blofeld fit in with the new incarnation of Bond?), there are several reasons to doubt the legitimacy of this so-called news. One is that The Daily Express’ source is unnamed, another is that Bond 23 doesn’t even have script or story… or director yet. Even if Sheen would probably make a good Bond villain in general, him playing Blofeld is pretty ridiculous. Unless we get wind of a more reliable source, count Sheen being Blofeld in the next Bond installment as extremely, extremely unlikely.

For the sake of discussion: What do you think of the notion of Michael Sheen being Blofeld in Bond 23? Do you think he would make a good Bond villain in general?

A production date for Bond 23 has yet to be set.

Sources: The Guardian and CHUD

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Tags: bond 23,

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  • BlueCollarCritic
    I love Bond films, especially the Pierce ones (mainly because I think he is the best bond mainly because his look and maner or what I imagine Bond was intended to be but I realize I'm in the minority on that) but the one change I'd love to see if the intro of a villina portrayed by an actor whose ability to be a great villian is highly under used and that is John Travolta. In ever movie that Travolta plays a bad guy (a human bad guy) like Sword Fish and Pelham 1,2,3 he is amazingly awesome and so believable. He plays the psychotic villian to the max.

    If you;ve seen AVATAR then you know that Stephen Lang, who plays the lead Military person on the planet is another great bad guy in the military /exmilitary/paramilitary type of role. I think it would be great to see Travolta s the villian with Stephan Lang as his henchman, the guy that bond has to physical tangle with at some point.
  • Geoge Salis
    I just want Daniel Craig to be casted as James bond again. he's my favorite bond actor.
  • @EnglishGavz... I think Sheen's turn in "Underworld" as Lucian certainly qualified as a villain (yes, I know he had legit reasons for his actions, but he certainly was not a hero within that film). He did a good job, and to Lord Garth, I'd point out his take in "Underworld" certainly made him look anything but twerpy. Heck, you could barely tell it was him.

    And I would agree with tasouli that the notion of re-imagining Blofeld would be rather bold, and seems somewhat inevitable given the reboot of the Bond films. However, let me toss out a radical notion: perhaps we've already met the new Blofeld. Jesper Christensen has popped up twice now within the new Bond films as a villainous character simply named "Mr. White." Well, in "Diamonds are Forever," Blofeld's character impersonated a corporate head named "Willard Whyte." Isn't it possible Christensen's "name" of "Mr. White" is a subtle clue that he is the new Blofeld of the Bond series? Just a thought.
  • Iron Knight
    Anyone thinks this film will be out on late 2010? If they really want to bring Blofeld back they'll need to really work out a way to make him fit in the new take on the franchise
  • Underdog007
    I would love to see Blofeld in the next Bond. He doesn't need to be as over the top but needs to be a truly "evil" bad guy. I want Jaws back too!!!
  • Tim
    Sorry, Huggybear.

    One of my favorite things with these last two Bond films has been the lack of such rediculous over-the-top villains, especially as compared to previous films. I would really like to see them make it feel more realistic and believeable, without some of the completely rediculous lengths that other films went to.

    I recently read a few of the books and now I can't watch the older movies. In many cases, pure crap.
  • EnglishGavz
    I don't think I've ever seen Sheen play a bad guy, but I like the idea, maybe not Blofeld, but a Bond villain maybe.
  • StevenL
    Well they resurrected the evil organization in the last movie, so it is only natural to use Blofeld as its head. This also goes a long way to re-introducing Bond canon which people have been itching for. Perhaps they can go back to not showing his face as they did early on. Or is the cat out of the bag now (pun somewhat intended) and anything less then full frontal Bloefeld would feel unsatisfying?

    HMMMM.... while writing this, it has occured to me...Do they even have the rights so use Bloefeld?
  • Huggybear
    I don't like new Bond movies. Not enough gadgety and silly. The lack of Q is unbearable.
  • Lord Garth, Formerly of Izar
    Now this I could get behind but not Michael Sheen. Please not another twerpy white collar Euro villian guy we just had a Franco looking Michael Sheen with a slight Joel Cairo accent in the last film. How about Bruno Ganz as Blofeld?? He made the best Hitler of all time and he is a regarded as one of the best actors in all of Europe. Bruno Ganz for Blofeld!!!!!
  • tasouli
    resurecting an old character in a bond movie might actually be a very bold idea and one that might end up working out. Blofeld was a very popular character in from russia with love and that will always add the dynamic of comparing and contrasting between the two actor's persformances which will ultimetely generate a huge buzz on the movie...looking forward to the new bond
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