Stephen Hawking Wants to Play a James Bond Villain; 24th Movie's Cast, Title to Be Revealed Thursday

Although astrophysicist thinks his "wheelchair and the computer voice" make him perfect for role, other reports claim Christoph Waltz will tackle baddie role

By Rebecca Macatee Dec 02, 2014 6:32 PMTags
Stephen HawkingDimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

The cast and title of the 24th James Bond film will be revealed via livestream on Thursday—and Stephen Hawking wants to see his name there!

The renowned 72-year-old astrophysicist isn't gunning for Daniel Craig's job, though—he wants to play the villain, telling Wired U.K., "My ideal role would be a baddie in a James Bond film."

"I think the wheelchair and the computer voice would fit the part," he quipped.

Hawking might have some competition for the part, though. According to multiple reports, Christoph Waltz is set to play evil genius Ernst Stavro Blofeld. (This super villain character served as the inspiration for Austin Powers' Dr. Evil character, played by Mike Myers.)

Press Association via AP Images

Will returning director Sam Mendes (he also worked on 2012's Skyfall) throw us all for a loop and cast Hawking? Or has he actually selected Waltz to play the Bond baddie? We'll find out when the livestream, posted to 007.com, kicks off Thursday at 3 a.m. PT! It will also be tweeted from the official @007 James Bond handle.

So whose names can we definitely expect to hear? Craig will be back for his fourth Bond flick, and per Variety, Ralph Fiennes will reprise his role as M, Naomie Harris will be back as Eve Moneypenny, Rory Kinnear will return as Bill Tanner and Ben Whishaw will be back as Q. Multiple reports have predicted that Léa Seydoux will be tackling the role of the latest Bond girl.

Craig, for what it's worth, is looking forward to filming the franchise's 24th flick. "Hopefully we'll reclaim some of the old irony," he told Vulture last year, "and make sure it doesn't become pastiche. I can't do shtick, I'm not very good at it. Unless it kind of suddenly makes sense. Does that make sense? I sometimes wish I hammed it up more, but I just can't do it very well, so I don't do it."

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Bond 24, as its tentatively being called, is scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 6, 2015.