'SPECTRE': Here's what we know about Christoph Waltz's villainous character

It certainly appears that “Big Eyes” actor Christoph Waltz will play the villain in the upcoming James Bond film “SPECTRE,” but is he famous “Bond” villain Blofeld? 

Bond fans are learning more about the upcoming film as we get closer to the movie’s November release date. “SPECTRE” features the return of actor Daniel Craig, who previously starred in the films “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” and “Skyfall,” as superspy James Bond.

The movie co-stars actors Waltz, Dave Bautista of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Blue Is the Warmest Color” actress Léa Seydoux, and Monica Belluci of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” as well as the return of “Skyfall” actors Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw. 

From the beginning, Bond fans have wondered if the title of the new film means famous Bond villain Ernst Blofeld will be making an appearance in the film. For the uninitiated, SPECTRE stands for “Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion” and in previous movies, the villain Blofeld was the head of the organization SPECTRE. He’s popped up previously in such Bond movies as “You Only Live Twice” and “Diamonds Are Forever” and has been played by various actors, including Donald Pleasence of “Halloween.” 

When announcing who was starring in “SPECTRE,” the official James Bond Twitter account tweeted last year,

Waltz himself said when asked whether he was playing Blofeld, “That is absolutely untrue. That rumor started on the Internet, and the Internet is a pest. The name of my character is Franz Oberhauser.” In the James Bond books by Ian Fleming, Oberhauser is a ski instructor for James with whom James becomes close. However, Oberhauser later vanishes.

Judging by a new trailer, Waltz’s character is certainly someone villainous. “You came across me so many times, yet you never saw me,” someone who certainly sounds like Waltz says in voiceover. “What took you so long?” A person sitting in shadow at the head of a table is then revealed to be Waltz, and Waltz later says, “It was me, James. The author of all your pain.” 

So that doesn't sound like a particularly friendly character. The immediate assumption that Waltz is taking on a villainous role may also be because of the movies audiences have seen him in previously. His breakout part was as a Nazi in the 2010 Quentin Tarantino movie “Inglourious Basterds” (for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) and he also played antagonists in such recent movies as the 2011 films “The Green Hornet,” “The Three Musketeers,” and “Water for Elephants” as well as the 2014 movie “Horrible Bosses 2.”   

However, if Blofeld is involved in this new movie, the film “SPECTRE” follows the reboot pattern currently in style in Hollywood. The first movie starring Craig, the 2006 movie “Casino Royale,” was in a sense a reboot of the series – at the beginning of the film, Craig as Bond is first given his title of 007. When a series is rebooted, audiences practically assume that their favorite characters or villains will pop up eventually, and if Blofeld is involved, he’s one of the most famous characters of the franchise.

Fan favorite characters coming back in a reboot also include the Joker of the “Batman” series, who has been played by two different actors previously as the franchise was rebooted and will now be portrayed by “Dallas Buyers Club” actor Jared Leto in the 2016 film “Suicide Squad,” and the “Star Trek” character of Khan, who was portrayed by actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the recent “Trek” film “Star Trek Into Darkness” after previously having been played by Ricardo Montalban. 

If Blofeld is involved, this bringing back of favorite characters for “SPECTRE” is in contrast to the plot of the last Bond film, the 2012 smash hit “Skyfall,” where the movie’s villain, Raoul Silva, was far from a famous name to Bond fans prior to the movie’s release. 

“SPECTRE” will be released on Nov. 6.