James Bond: No Time to Die – New Photo of Rami Malek’s Villain Revealed

We’re just two months away from the official release of No Time to Die, the 25th movie in the James Bond franchise and the official swan song for Daniel Craig’s iteration of the character. The promotional cycle for the film is gearing up to shift into high gear now following the Super Bowl spot for the film and with just weeks left to promote it. That in mind, a new photo from the sequel has debuted showing off a new look at Rami Malek‘s villain character, Safrin, along with some brief quotes from the actor and the film’s director that offer some interesting teases.

Shown in the photo is Malek’s villain in a Japanese Noh mask, which has quickly become his trademark as many scenes in the trailers feature him wearing one as well as another in a box.

“We didn’t pick a mask off a wall willy-nilly,” Malek told Total Film. “We had to think extremely specifically as to what would make the most sense. If it doesn’t make sense to the story and to the character, then arguably it loses impact.”

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga opened up further about Safin’s Japanese aesthetics, himself hailing from Japanese descent. The filmmaker revealed that this bled into the decision making of the villain and the backstory that they built for him, saying: “We came up with a mythology about where he’s based, and how there can be a mix of cultural influences there.”

Many of the other details about Malek’s character are still mysterious, with a popular fan theory circulating around that he’s actual a modern interpretation of the character Dr. No from the franchise. Malek himself threw fuel on the fire of this theory before, saying in an interview with EW: “I don’t even know what my character’s final name is in this movie.”

Some of the “Evidence” that Malek is in fact Dr. No is sparse and a bit of a reach, including that Malek has not been seen in any of the footage without gloves on (Dr. No famously had robotic hands in the original film). The recent Super Bowl spot for No Time to Die did include a shot of Malek without gloves on, which could be a red herring.

There’s also the fact that the SPECTRE organization, of which Dr. No was a member, was just introduced in the previous movie and it has been confirmed that this film will tie into all of the previously release Daniel Craig James Bond movies as well. Finally, there’s the title itself, No Time to Die, which could be taken literally if he is in fact Dr. No.

The cast of No Time to Die will also include Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, Naomie Harris, Lea Seydoux, Ben Winshaw, Jeffrey Wright, and Ralph Fiennes.

No Time to Die is set to be released on April 10th.