‘Wonder Woman’ Star Said Taghmaoui May Be Next ‘Bond’ Villain

Wonder Woman star Said Taghmaoui has revealed he's in line to menace Daniel Craig's James Bond as the villain in Bond 25 — but landing the role is dependent upon which of two nationalities are elected by the producers.

"I'm supposed to do the next James Bond, playing the lead bad guy," Taghmaoui told The National.

Taghmaoui is aware the project, which lost director Danny Boyle just last month, could go another direction with its lead villain in the wake of the Trainspotting and 28 Days Later filmmaker stepping away following creative differences.

"I was cast by Danny Boyle, and just now he left the project, so of course there's some uncertainty," he said.

"We don't know who the director will be, and the producers don't know if they're going to go Russian or Middle East with the baddie right now. I literally just received a message saying: 'If they go Middle East, it's you. If they go Russian, it's someone else.' It's the story of my life. Always on that line between something that could change my life and something that disappears."

A French-American actor of Moroccan descent, Taghmaoui played Moroccan-born Sameer — World War I ally of Amazon warrior Diana (Gal Gadot) in the progressive Wonder Woman — and is mindful not to contribute to Middle Eastern roles, even if he admits his potential Bond role could be viewed as regressive.

"I know that [Bond] could be seen as a big cliche, and I'm always fighting. I refuse so many roles because you fight to get something, you go and audition, and then in the end you have to refuse it because it's just not good. That's how you start your journey," Taghmaoui said.

Taghmaoui's fate lies in the hands of series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who are on the hunt for both their big bad and their replacement director.

An August report from Deadline reported Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Sharp Objects) was approached, but scheduling will likely rule him out from accepting the gig. Also named as a "real possibility" is Baby Driver writer-director Edgar Wright, who is said to be interested on helming an entry in the world-famous long-running franchise.

Other directors named on the shortlist include David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) and Yann Demange (White Boy Rick). More recently, an updated shortlist revealed by Variety pointed to Bart Layton (American Animals) and S.J. Clarkson (The Defenders, the upcoming Star Trek 4) as candidates.

MGM is readying Bond 25 for a tentative November 8, 2019 release — just one week after Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters.