Mark Strong will not play the villain role in the upcoming James Bond 24 slated for next year.

After a number of rumors, the actor decided to address to his fan base. The actor told MI6, "Daniel is a very good friend of mine. We've known each other for years and he's a godfather to my eldest child. The reason these rumors came about is because recently we went on a walking tour together in the Atlas Mountains."

He continued, "We took some time off to have some friend time; we hadn't seen each other for ages. Busy schedules mean you can't see each other and don't see your mates for a long time. And we went walking together. Someone took a picture and everybody's come to the conclusion I must be the new bad guy in the new Bond movie!"

Strong is known for play a diverse amount of roles including many villains. He played the villain in "Kick-Ass," "Sherlock Holmes" and "John Carter." He has also starred in "Zero Dark Thirty," "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and the recent "Before I Go to Sleep."

Strong will appear in the upcoming "The Imitation Game" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service."

Throughout the past months, rumors have built over who would play the villain in the film. Earlier this year, there was speculation that Chiwetel Ejiofor ("12 Years a Slave") would play the role and later Dave Bautista ("Guardians of the Galaxy") went into the conversation.

However, the Bond team has yet to confirm anything about the main antagonist. The only recent casting news was Lea Seydoux ("Blue is the Warmest Color," "The Grand Budapest Hotel"), who is scheduled to appear as the Bond girl in the film.

Another rumor that has circulated surrounds who will sing the theme song to the film. Adele has already opted out of the film and many have Sam Smith as the new singer. Others have speculated that Lana Del Rey would perform the theme song. However, she has not made any mention of participating in the film, either.

Production is gearing up to start shooting in many locations. Sony has not revealed many details and little is still known of the actual plot.

The one thing that was recently announced was that writer Jez Butterworth was hired to apply a final bit of polish to the script. Butterworth is the fourth writer to work on the script to the highly anticipated film.

Butterworth is best known for the eight plays he wrote between 1992 and 2012, including "Mojo" and "Jerusalem." He has also written the acclaimed "Edge of Tomorrow" and the James Brown biopic "Get on Up," which was released this past summer.

Bond 24 is slated to open on Nov. 6, 2015 with production set to begin very soon. Sam Mendes, who directed "Skyfall," will helm the upcoming installment and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson will produce. Hoyte van Hoytema is set to serve as director of photography and Academy Award nominee Lee Smith will edit the film.

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