Ep. 19: Lea Seydoux Returning for BOND 25, Rami Malek Playing the Next Bond Villain???

"HOLD THE PRESSES! This just in..." Episode 19 of The Words Are Not Enough is a Bond 25 Emergency News Update!

In this episode Griffin (@griffschiller) and Brody (@brodyserravalli) discuss the following:

1. Bond 25 has found a DP
* Earlier in the week, Variety's Kristopher Tapley broke the story that Academy Award-winning Swedish DP, Linus Sandgren (best know for La La Land and First Man) will be joining Bond 25 as Director of Photography, saying "It appears Linus Sandgren is shooting the next Bond". IndieWire has now confirmed this story, citing Sandgren himself as their source.
2. Seydoux to return
* The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye reported that Cary Fukunaga had confirmed Lea Seydoux's return to the franchise, offering the concise comment "Lea will be returning".
* Variety's Justin Kroll then corroborated Bamigboye's reporting, stating that a source had confirmed the story to Variety.
* What this return could mean for 25 (continuation of Spectre's story)
* What kind of role will Madeleine play in the movie (OHMSS-style death speculated among fans) - we weigh in
* Confirms that Monica Bellucci probably won't be returning as rumoured (although does confirm they were looking to bring a Bond girl back for 25 - something Barbara Broccoli has been trying to do since TND)
3. Casting call for two women and a villain
* Kroll also reported that "EON is looking for two other actresses - one would play an MI6 agent who works with Bond and another, a mystery woman - as well as the Bond villain."
* Alleged insiders then added that "Rami Malek was being eyed for the [villain] role, but his schedule on the last season of Mr Robot, which shoots from March through July, makes it unlikely he will be able to take the gig, even if EON offered him the part".
* Does this mean Blofelwill not be returning as the villain?
4. Harris, Whishaw, and Fiennes to return
* In his conversation with Cary Fukunaga, Baz Bamigboye also confirmed that Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naomi Harris would be returning as M, Q, and Moneypenny respectively. Cary seemed eager to work with the returning crew and the rest of the British talent likely to fill out the cast saying "You have some of the best actors in the world here, why wouldn't I have the best coming back?!"
* Interesting that Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner was not included in that list of MI6 regulars returning as he has been a staple of the Craig era Vauxhall.
5. Cary Fukunaga suggested to be writing Bond 25 in addition to directing
* In Justin Kroll's Variety piece, Cary Fukunaga is reported to now be writing Bond 25. In the article, Fukunaga is listed as the sole writer two times and no reference is made to any other writers. Bamigboye suggested that Purvis and Wade were on-board to write and that Fukunaga was having "major input" in the direction of the script, but this does not appear to have been based off of new information obtained during his interview with Fukunaga. It is very likely Bamigboye is basing this off of the uncited rumour that Bond 25 would be going back to using the Purvis and Wade treatment following John Hodge's departure. Fukunaga rewriting the film lines up with his earlier comments from last week about the film still being written.
* Confirms earlier story that EON were looking for a writer/director for Bond 25
* If Purvis and Wade are in fact out - were EON looking for a writer/director because they were keen to rewrite/replace their original treatment
6. Norway as a Bond 25 filming location
* Norwegian outlet, Bergens Tidende, has reported that a filmed dubbed "B25" has applied for a 25% subsidy of costs intensive for filming in Noway. This was then corroborated by Norwegian film commissioner Adrian Mitchell who spoke to Oslo newspaper, Dagsavisen, and said the following "I can confirm that we have been in contact with...