‘James Bond 25’: Lupita Nyong’o Reportedly Out of Negotiations

Less than 24 hours after Lupita Nyong’o was said to be in talks to star in Bond 25, it appears MGM will have to go back to the drawing board when it comes to casting the next Bond girl. According to an update from Deadline, Nyong’o is no longer in consideration for the role.

Without any elaboration, Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. says “her [Nyong’o] team is telling me it won’t work out with her.” Should Nyong’o part, it’d be another bump in the road for the tumultuous Bond 25 production.

Currently set to be directed by True Detective helmer Cary Fukunaga, the film has had a few directors and screenwriters attached since it was first announced. Fukunaga took over the director’s chair from Sam Mendes while Scott Z. Burns (Contagion) was recently tapped to overhaul the script. Not only that, there was a period of time where it was unclear whether or not franchise lead Daniel Craig would be back as to star. Eventually, the actor agreed to one more outing as the MI6 agent.

Just yesterday, it was reported Nyong’o would be joining the project alongside freshly minted Oscar-winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody). As of now, it appears Malek is still set to play the primary antagonist of the film opposite Craig.

Other than Craig, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux, and Ralph Fiennes are all reportedly reprising their roles from previous entries in the ever-growing Bond franchise.

The yet-untitled Bond flick is set to speed into theaters April 8th, 2020. If you’re looking to play catch-up before the 25th Bond movie drops next April, Netflix has added almost every film in the franchise from Dr. No (1962) to Spectre (2015). All in all, the film has 20 of the 24 currently released Bond movies available for streaming as of this writing.

Are you surprised to see Nyong’o drop out of the film so quickly? Who do you think would make a great addition to the Bond franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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