Twelve Years a Slave's Chiwetel Ejiofor is being sought to play the next James Bond villain, according to Variety.

The movie-business trade magazine says the British star of Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning race drama is the top name on 007 producers' wish list for the 24th official James Bond film. Director Sam Mendes is to return following the $1bn success of 2012 outing Skyfall, which saw Daniel Craig in his third outing as the suave British secret agent.

Bond 24 is due to start filming in the summer for a November 2015 release date. Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris are also due to return as the new M,Q and Moneypenny respectively. Thus far there are no plot details.

Producers' decision to target Ejiofor is said to have been inspired by the successful recruitment of Oscar-winner Javier Bardem to play the leftfield villain of Skyfall, Silva. They are also looking for one British woman and one of Scandinavian extraction to play Bond girls, according to Variety.

In other 007 news, studio MGM and perennial Bond production company Eon/Danjaq are to sue studio Universal for allegedly plagiarising the British super sleuth in forthcoming spy tale Section 6. Attack the Block's Joe Cornish was revealed last month as the high profile director of the new film, described as a historical drama about the First World War founding of MI6. British big screen ingenue Jack O'Connell, of Starred Up fame, is set to play the lead.

Bond's makers allege Section 6 is really "a James Bond knockoff that defendant Universal is readying for production". In a suit filed at California federal court on Thursday they point to "a motion picture project, in active development, featuring a daring, tuxedo-clad British secret agent, employed by 'His Majesty's Secret Service,' with a 'license to kill,' and a 00 (double-O) secret agent number on a mission to save England from the diabolical plot of a megalomanical villain."