Rami Malek promises 'No Time To Die' subverts expectations: 'You will be shocked'

Watch: Rami Malek introduces Safin in a No Time To Die featurette

With No Time To Die wrapped and ready for release since early 2020, many rumours have swirled about the plot of the 25th James Bond film, but its villain – Rami Malek – says fans will be surprised when it’s finally released in April next year.

“Let the rumours fly,” Malek told GQ in a new cover interview, “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.”

One of the many rumours about Daniel Craig’s final 007 film is that Malek’s character Safin will be revealed to be Dr Julius No, the villain of the very first James Bond film starring the late great Sean Connery, released in 1962.

Read more: The troubled timeline of Daniel Craig's final 007 film

“That’s interesting,” Malek responds when GQ poses the theory, “I’m not going to bite on that, but I do think it’s interesting. They’ll just have to wait and see.”

Let’s not forget that Spectre star Christoph Waltz vehemently denied being Blofeld ahead of the release of the previous Bond film, insisting his character Franz Oberhauser was exactly who he said he was.

He was revealed to be Bond’s iconic nemesis during the course of the film, and will return as the head of Spectre in No Time To Die.

Talking about Safin’s role in No Time To Die, the film’s director Cary Joji Fukunaga told GQ that he’s one of the most dangerous threats 007 has ever faced.

“Once we got into Christoph Waltz/Blofeld territory, you can’t go small again,” Fukunaga explains. “We had to think bigger. 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.”

Read more: Why 007 has endured as a movie mainstay and will again

This chimes with the director’s previous statement that Safin is “more dangerous than anyone he has ever encountered, and whoever they are is smarter and and stronger than Spectre”.

No Time To Die will come to cinemas on 2 April 2021.

Watch the latest No Time To Die trailer.