From the very moment that Christoph Waltz was rumored to be involved in Sam Mendes’ Spectre, many had assumed that the celebrated actor would take on the role of one Ernst Stavro Blofeld — a supervillain held up as James Bond’s true archnemesis. However, when Mendes formally revealed the 24th installment in the long-running franchise a fortnight ago, it turned out that Waltz’s character was instead named Oberhauser. Still, that hasn’t quelled those Blofeld rumors.
When asked the question by Collider at a press event for Big Eyes — Tim Burton’s eclectic period drama — the Oscar winning actor ruled out the possibility of Blofeld’s involvement as the head of Spectre…or did he?
“No. No. It’s more interesting than that,” Waltz said.
It’s hardly one to stop the presses, but Waltz’s quote does bring up some intriguing possibilities. Could it be that Mendes and his writing staff are trying to protect the identity of Blofeld using the Oberhauser name as a guise much like “John Harrison” in Star Trek: Into Darkness? In fact, it may indicate that Blofeld isn’t classed as the overriding leader of Spectre in this interpretation, meaning that the film will rework the origin story of the titular organization. What’s more likely, though, is that Waltz is under a strict embargo and won’t be able to divulge any details until closer to release, if at all.
Filming is already underway on Sam Mendes’ continuation, which will reunite Daniel Craig, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes for another bout of espionage action. In terms of Waltz’s alleged villain, we can only wait until Spectre makes its anticipated bow November 6, 2015 to find out the true identity of his character.
