Rami Malek, who recently won an Oscar for Best Actor, is in final negotiations to play the antagonist in the latest instalment of the James Bond franchise.

Malek's name has been doing the rounds as the next Bond villain for quite some time now, but there were some scheduling conflicts owing to the shooting of the next season of Mr Robot. However, it seems these conflicts have been resolved and he might be roped in to play the antagonist in Daniel Craig's fifth, and possibly the last, outing as the British spy. 

The film will be directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who came onboard as a director after Danny Boyle exited the project over "creative differences." 

Actors Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw will also reprise their roles in the new film, which will be distributed by MGM win partnership with Annapurna Pictures. The film is scheduled for release on April 8, 2020.