Rhys Ifans Cast In 'Bond 23'

The twenty-third James Bond movie, for now simply called Bond 23, will start shooting in a few months, and we know next to nothing about it. The film will be Daniel Craig's third outing as Bond, this time under the direction of Sam Mendes. Judi Dench will return as M, Naomie Harris will reportedly play Miss Moneypenny, and Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes should have roles as well.

The Telegraph now says that Rhys Ifans is set for the film, and that it will shoot largely in South Africa. Without knowing any more about the script (by John Logan, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, possibly with Closer writer Patrick Marber doing some work as well), or indeed knowing if this is confirmed, all I can offer is, 'great choice.' Mr. Ifans is a versatile, slightly unusual actor, and he'd be a compliment to the new Bond cast.  In the meantime, he has a couple other big films coming out before Bond 23: he's the Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man, and stars in Roland Emmerich's Shakespeare conspiracy movie Anonymous. Bond 23 is set for release October 26 in the UK and November 9 in the rest of the world. [via Bleeding Cool]