What will happen in the as-yet-untitled James Bond 23? Nobody knows, but the unreliable British tabloid The Daily Express has an unnamed source (ie, they made it up) saying that Michael Sheen is in talks to play legendary Bond baddie Blofeld in the film.
This rumor/bullshit comes because Peter Morgan has been announced as writing the film, and two of Sheen’s best known roles are in Morgan films – Tony Blair in The Queen and David Frost in Frost/Nixon. That’s likely the only place the rumor originates: some reporter for the Daily Express killing time on IMDB.
Even if Sheen is in talks to star in the movie (which has no script, by the way), it’s hugely unlikely that he’d play Blofeld. While everybody wants the new super evil organization Quantum to be revealed as SPECTRE, the rights to Blofeld and SPECTRE are so tied up in legal nonsense that I sense EON, the producers of the Bond films, won’t even bother trying to cut through them anytime soon. Especially since they have Quantum – why bother with Blofeld when you can just make up a new version of him?
For a look at how the rights got so fucked, check out this Wikipedia entry on the controversy over Thunderball.
For the worst in rumors and nonsense, check out the British tabs.