‘12 Years A Slave’ Star Chiwetel Ejiofor Could Be The Next James Bond Villain

“Twelve Years a Slave” actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is in talks to play the villain in the next James Bond film “Bond 24,” TheWrap reported Friday.

Sam Mendes will be directing the 24th film in the Bond series after guiding “Skyfall” to critical acclaim and $1.1 billion at the box office worldwide. Daniel Craig is set to reprise his role as Bond, with Ralph Fiennes returning as M, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as Q. After Javier Bardem’s role as the last Bond villain, the team reportedly wanted to cast someone with a similarly interesting persona.

According to reports, casting for the two key female roles, a new Bond girl and "a Scandinavian with a troubled past who will serve as a brief love interest for Bond," is still underway.

Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson will be producing the movie, while John Logan will write the script.

Ejiofor may have recently played a heroic role in Steve McQueen’s historical drama, but he has previously played the heavy in “Children of Men” and “Four Brothers.”

Ejiofor is currently filming “Z for Zachariah” with Chris Pine and Margot Robbie, and will start filming for John Hillcoat’s “Triple Nine,” starring Kate Winslet, Woody Harrelson and Aaron Paul.

The production of “Bond 24” is expected to begin in November and run through April 2015, but the release date is yet to be revealed.