Malek thought it was “perfect” to be “going from one iconic Brit to being in an iconic British franchise,” referring to his portrayal of the late Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. 

“A few things have happened in my life in the last couple of years, where I’ve thought, ‘I can’t imagine these things are happening,'” he smiled.  

A lifelong Bond fan, Rami singled out Sean Connery as his favorite Bond and Dr. No and The Man with the Golden Gun as two of his favorite films.

Malek praised Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond, saying, “I think Daniel has done such an astounding job in making [Bond]…relatable….yet cynical and ruthless.”

Malek said it was “pretty sad” that the new movie will be Craig’s last turn as 007, though he added, “I’m going to give him a run for his money.”

While Malek said he knows, “quite a lot about” his character, he’d only describe him as “villainous.”

Simultaneous to his reveal, the producers of the James Bond franchise confirmed the rest of the cast, which includes Lea Seydoux, returning as Dr. Madelaine Swann from Spectre, as well as Bond’s MI6 colleagues Q, played by Ben Whishaw; Ralph Fiennes as M and Naomie Harris as Moneypenny.

Jeffrey Wright returns as CIA agent Felix Leiter, who’ll interrupt Bond’s holiday in Jamaica asking for help.

In the still-untitled film, the super-spy undertakes a “mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist” that, “turns out to be far more treacherous than expected,” and leads him to “a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.”

No release date yet for the film, which is being called Bond 25 for now.