Javier Bardem to be Bond Villain in “Bond 23”

Mock-up of Javier Bardem as Blofeld. (Andrew Snavely)

Javier Bardem recently announced he'll be playing the super villain against James Bond in the currently untitled “Bond 23”. What's interesting about this choice in casting, as some have noted, is the typical casting of a character actor for Bond's nemesis, versus a more mainstream leading man.

Will Bardem's bond villain be similar to those past, or will he be more modern and less comic-book-y? In an interview he's quoted saying, “They're changing the whole thing, the whole dynamic…I'd be playing Bond's nemesis, yes, but it's not that obvious. everything is more nuanced. It's very intriguing.”

Bardem certainly has the chops for it, recognized with an Oscar for his portrayal of the scary-ass bad guy in No Country for Old Men. The last Bond villain to hold an Oscar was Christopher Walken in A View to Kill.

What do you think? I'm pretty stoked, while Quantum of Solace was rather lackluster, the producers seem to know what they're doing with the Bond revamping.

Read more about the announcement here.