Benedict Cumberbatch to play the next Bond villain?

The British Isles have been providing Hollywood movies with awesome bad guys for decades. From Emperor Palpatine and Hannibal Lecter, to the Sheriff of Nottingham and Voldemort, name a great film villain and chances are the actor who played them was probably from the United Kingdom. Now it appears as though Tinsel Town has found their new go-to Brit villain in the form of "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch.

The awesomely-named English actor already has a number of high-profile baddie roles lined up, including the still-unnamed antagonist in J. J. Abrams "Star Trek" sequel and the treasure-hoarding dragon Smaug in the upcoming "Hobbit" films. But the 36-year-old thespian is now rumoured to be in the running for another choice role: a Bond villain.

See also: Fred Savage talks 'Princess Bride' 25 years later

Although the release of the next James Bond movie "Skyfall" is still over a month away, some of the pieces for the next entry in the 007 series are already falling into place. The U.K.'s Express is reporting that Cumberbatch is at the top of the list to play the big bad in Bond 24, taking on Daniel Craig's super agent in the film due out in 2014.

"Benedict is considered perfect Bond villain material. Work on the next film will begin next year and the plan is for Benedict to be on board," a source told the Express. "He grew up watching Bond, so it would be a childhood ambition fulfilled."

Given the anonymous source and the fact that the Express is very much a tabloid, this one should stay firmly in the rumour category for now. However, in light of Cumberbatch's recent slate of notable villain roles, the Bond gig is not beyond the realm of possibility. The actor is no stranger to the spy genre (albeit on the more sedate side of things), having starred in the slow burning thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" last year. And for his part, Cumberbatch has publicly expressed interest in playing a Bond-type role at some point — though he seemed more keen on playing the hero. Hopefully playing the villain holds the same appeal for the actor.

See also: A new 'Looney Tunes' reboot?

With current 007 Daniel Craig having recently signed on for two more Bond movies, it's not likely that audiences will see Cumberbatch playing Bond any time soon. But for those intrigued by the prospect of a Cumber-Bond, an intrepid fan has edited together a trailer mashup featuring the actor in the role of the super spy. Check it out below.

Do you think Cumberbatch would make a good Bond baddie? Or would you rather see him play the secret agent himself?

James Bond returns in "Skyfall" on Oct. 26 in the U.K. and Nov. 9 in North America.