Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o is being courted to join the Cary Fukunaga-directed Bond 25 opposite star Daniel Craig, Deadline reports.
The report comes a day after it was learned Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek, fresh off an Oscar win for Best Actor, is in final talks to board the project as its lead villain.
Should deals be finalized, the Oscar-winning actors would join a cast that includes the returning Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, Léa Seydoux as Madeleine, and Ralph Fiennes as M.
Fukunaga, the Emmy-nominated director of HBO’s first season of True Detective and Netflix’s Maniac, takes over for Danny Boyle, who in turn took over from Sam Mendes. The project changed hands after Boyle exited the project citing creative differences.
Appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in 2017, the 50-year-old Craig said of Bond 25, “I think this is it. I just want to go out on a high note. I can’t wait.”
Other rumored actors whose names have been floated, to varying degrees, include Thor star Idris Elba, Venom star Tom Hardy, Game of Thrones star Richard Madden, and Superman star Henry Cavill, who was the latest to be rumored for the newest Bond following reports the 35-year-old actor was exiting his role as Superman in Warner Bros.’ DC Films universe.
The Mission: Impossible — Fallout star once expressed his interest in the role when talking to Yahoo Movies, saying he would accept an offer to play the next James Bond if approached.
“I think Bond would be a really fun role,” Cavill said. “It’s British, it’s cool. I think now that I have my Mission: Impossible badge we can do real stunts and really amp it up as well.”
He added: “Not to say they weren’t doing real stunts — I’m just saying it would be fun for me to actually take what I’ve learnt on this and carry it through to a movie like Bond. I’d love to play a Brit — I don’t get to play a Brit very often. So yes, I would love the opportunity and if they were to ask, I would say yes.”
Cavill’s future in Warner Bros’ shared DC Extended Universe remains up in the air as the studio will next reportedly shift focus to Superman’s cousin with its in-the-works Supergirl movie.
MGM has dated the untitled Bond 25 for April 8, 2020.
