The 25th James Bond film is set to be the fifth and final one starring Daniel Craig as the fictional British secret agent. But as the character slinks off into retirement, a totally new spy will be taking over his iconic secret agent number.
A report from the Daily Mail claims 007 is set to be played by a Black woman in the form of British actress Lashana Lynch. Sources told the publication that Lynch’s character is not the new Bond but a different character who takes his secret agent number once MI6 is in Bond’s rearview mirror.
The plot involves a retired Bond relaxing in Jamaica when the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, M, calls on the spy to make one last mission to take on a global emergency.
“There is a pivotal scene at the start of the film where M says ‘Come in 007,’ and in walks Lashana who is black, beautiful and a woman,” the insider told the British tabloid. “It’s a popcorn-dropping moment. Bond is still Bond but he’s been replaced as 007 by this stunning woman.”
American audiences will likely recognize Lynch from last year’s “Captain Marvel,” in which she portrayed fighter pilot Maria Rambeau. In the oft-delayed 2020 Bond release, the actress is set to play a character named Nomi, according to IMDb. Aside from her turn in the short-lived British series “Crims,” Lynch’s other credits include playing Rosaline in the ABC period drama “Still Star-Crossed,” based on the story of Romeo and Juliet after the couple’s demise.
As for her “Bond 25” character, the source told the Daily Mail that Nomi will be involved in the typical cat-and-mouse game the handsome secret agent plays with women.
“Bond, of course, is sexually attracted to the new female 007 and tries his usual seduction tricks, but is baffled when they don’t work on a brilliant, young black woman who basically rolls her eyes at him and has no interest in jumping into his bed. Well, certainly not at the beginning,” the insider divulged.
The news of Lynch taking on the 007 title comes months after Idris Elba, who has long been considered by many to be the next to likely take on the legendary role, addressed his concerns with starring as the lead in a Bond flick.
“You just get disheartened,” he told Vanity Fair in June. “When you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the color of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn’t work or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to.”
Yet the Daily Mail source said Lynch’s addition marks a change in how the stories of Bond films are told in the current time period.
Noting the term “Bond girls” is now forbidden in favor of “Bond women,” the insider said, “This is a Bond for the modern era who will appeal to a younger generation while sticking true to what we all expect in a Bond film. There are spectacular chase sequences and fights, and Bond is still Bond but he’s having to learn to deal with the world of #MeToo.”
