Rami Malek confirmed as Bond 25 villain opposite Daniel Craig's 007

Rami Malek has been confirmed to star in the forthcoming James Bond film as the latest villain to challenge Daniel Craig’s 007.

After months of speculation, a livestream from the official 007 Twitter account revealed the returning cast along with some new faces, including Malek.

The Oscar-winning actor was not at Ian Fleming’s residence in Jamaica, where the Bond novels were written and where the announcement was made, but he shared a video message to express his excitement at the news.

“I’m stuck here in New York but I am very much looking forward to joining the cast and crew very soon,” he said. “I will be making sure that Bond does not have an easy ride on his 25th outing. I can’t wait to see you all soon.”

The title of the new film will be revealed at a later date. Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright and Lea Seydoux will also star.

Cary Fukunaga replaced Danny Boyle as director in November and has spent the past few months rewriting the script that reportedly ruffled feathers over at Eon Productions.

Producer Barbara Broccoli said: “Bond is not on active service when we start – he’s enjoying himself in Jamaica. We consider it Bond’s spiritual home. He starts his journey here – we’ve built an extraordinary house for him. We’ve got quite a ride in store for Mr Bond.”

See more details of the full cast announced so far, plus location details and any hints on a title, here.