The first trailer for the upcoming new James Bond film, No Time to Die, is finally here, and fans are already praising the terrifying new villain, Safin, played by Rami Malek. In the trailer, James is shown quitting active service and living abroad, when he is compelled to return to his work as a spy by an old friend, and stumbles across the new, masked villain.
The official synopsis reads: "In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology."
Fans were quick to discuss the trailer, and Safin has already received widespread praise. One person wrote: "This looks sick! Always wanted to see Rami Malek as a good villain!" Another added: "Wow already it looks awesome. The opening chase brings back to Quantum of Solace. I feel Rami Malek's character is the son of Blofeld." However, others were quick to joke that Safin's white mask was reminiscent of an iconic fictional character, with one tweeting: "James Bond meets Phantom of the Opera."
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Chatting to the Mirror about the role, Rami previously said: "It’s a great character and I’m very excited." He added that he didn't want his character to be a religious terrorist, explaining: "I said, ‘We cannot identify him with any act of terrorism reflecting an ideology or a religion. That’s not something I would entertain, so if that is why I am your choice then you can count me out’. But that was clearly not his vision. So he’s a very different kind of terrorist. It’s another extremely clever script from the people who have figured out exactly what people want in those movies." The film will be released in cinemas on 2 April 2020.