February 1, 2011 
>Javier Bardem has been approached to star in the next James Bond film according to Deadline.
While details haven’t been released, it would be fair to assume Bardem will be playing opposite Bond as the villain of the film (something Bardem experienced in 2007’s No Country for Old Men). (UPDATE: Bardem told the L.A. Times that the role he has been offered is indeed that of Bond’s nemesis.)
This news comes hot on the heels of Bardem’s Oscar nomination for Bitiful as well as another offer to star in the Ron Howard directed trilogy The Dark Tower, based on the series by Stephen King.
If Bardem takes the role in Bond it will be a fairly large transition to a very commercial film franchise for the actor who shines in films with perhaps a little more depth, Eat Pray Love excluded of course.
Bond #23 will see Daniel Craig reprise the role of super British spy, and wooer of ladies, James Bond, with Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) set to direct.
The film has been in trouble from the word go, with MGM battling bankruptcy and reportedly playing studios against each other for distribution rights. Originally the film was slated for a 2011 release but with MGM on the brink of collapse it took a further year for the studio to stabilise and for Spyglass to take over the studio’s filmmaking.
Now it finally looks as though Bond #23 is on its way to pre-production, with a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, the film will pick up where Quantum of Solace left off. Bond #23 is currently set for release on November 9, 2012.
Discuss: Would you like to see Bardem battle Bond?
Quickflix 
>I could see him as a Bond, but is it just me or does he look a lot like Robert Downey Jr? I would prefer to see our Hugh Jackman as a Bond though.
>Bardem as a Bond villain would be great, but I almost died when I just read that Howard is set to direct the Dark Tower. There goes my hopes for a GOOD film adaptation of the series…
>The Dark Tower will be AWESOME….. Still one of my fav Stephen King books and will certainly test Howards abilities with all the weird effects it will spawn…