2012’s Skyfall was almost certainly one of the best entries in the James Bond franchise to date (if not the best), but it looks like returning director Sam Mendes may be upping the ante in the follow-up.  Skyfall was a successful attempt at melding the legacy of the Bond franchise with its most recent Daniel Craig-fronted iteration, as the story simultaneously addressed how a person like James Bond fits into the modern landscape while also referencing some of the series’ most notable hallmarks.  With the ending of Skyfall acting as a mild reset to the goings-on at MI 6, a new rumor now claims that Mendes might be resurrecting one of the most famous Bond villains of all with actor Christoph Waltz’s role in the upcoming Bond 24: Ernst Stavro Blofeld.  More after the jump.

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Just a little over a year ago, we learned that a decades-long legal battle between MGM and Danjaq had come to an end, with the result being that MGM now controls all of the rights to the James Bond library—including classic Bond villain Ernst Blofeld and the nefarious organization known as SPECTRE.  With MGM finally landing these rights, we wondered whether the next Bond film might take advantage of the expanded library and reintroduce some of these classic aspects of the franchise.

Now, with filming on the untitled 24th Bond film set to get underway next month, The Daily Mail is reporting that Waltz will indeed be playing Blofeld in the film though his character’s official description is reportedly that of Franz Oberhauser, the son of a ski instructor who acted as a father figure to Bond.  If the Blofeld news is true, this would be a major development, as the character hasn’t officially been seen onscreen since 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, though he did appear as part of the “unofficial” Bond film Never Say Never Again.

The Daily Mail adds that Waltz’s casting is to be officially confirmed during a press conference in the first week of December, where they expect he will be announced as playing Oberhauser before he is revealed as Blofeld in the context of the film.  This is rather exciting stuff for Bond fans and I'm very interested to see what Waltz's take on the character might entail.

Bond 24 will also star Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, and Lea Seydoux and opens in theaters on November 6, 2015.

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Image via Sony and MGM