Christoph Waltz: Will he play a 'Bond' villain?

A 'Bond' insider reportedly said that Waltz has signed on for the next film in the series and that Waltz will be playing 'a nemesis of sorts.' Waltz has played many villainous characters before, most notably in the movie 'Inglourious Basterds,' for which he won an Oscar.

Will "Django Unchained" actor Christoph Waltz play the villain in the newest "James Bond" movie?

According to the Daily Mail, Waltz has officially come on board the film, which is being directed by "Skyfall" helmer Sam Mendes. TheWrap reporters Linda Ge and Jeff Sneider note that the Daily Mail writer who reported the news, Baz Bamigboye, "has a solid track record when it comes to 007 news."

According to Bamigboye, he was told by a “Bond insider” that “it’s not immediately evident whether the part’s friend, or foe, or a bit of both” and that “someone else on the production” called Waltz’s character “cunning… a nemesis of sorts.”

Bamigboye writes that “a Bond 24 spook” said, “Just because he has played bad guys in other movies doesn’t mean he’s going to be the baddie here,” but that that seemed to be “a clear bit of misdirection.”

According to TheWrap, neither Waltz nor EON Productions returned their requests for comment.

Waltz won his first Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the 2009 Quentin Tarantino film “Inglourious Basterds,” in which he played the charismatic villain Colonel Hans Landa. He also played the villain in the 2011 movie “The Three Musketeers” and the 2011 film “Water for Elephants,” though the film for which he won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar, the 2012 Quentin Tarantino movie “Django Unchained,” had him portraying the hero’s good-hearted best friend. In his review of “Elephants,” Monitor film critic Peter Rainer wrote that Waltz has a “gift for preening nastiness.”

The new “Bond” film will be actor Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as the superspy. Without accounting for inflation, the previous “Bond” movie, 2012’s “Skyfall,” was the highest-grossing movie in the series, according to the Hollywood Reporter. According to TheWrap, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, and Ralph Fiennes are all expected to return for the new film. 

The pressure will be on for the newest "Bond" villain to be great – actor Javier Bardem received widespread praise for his turn as the bad guy in "Skyfall," with Rainer calling his character "malevolence incarnate."