Lashana Lynch, known for her role as pilot Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel, has reportedly been cast as 007 in Bond 25. This is not to be confused with the role of James Bond, who will be played by Daniel Craig. We’re talking about the codename here.
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According to an insider – large grain of salt – Bond 25 begins with the superspy being called out of retirement by M (Ralph Fiennes). Apparently, someone’s trying to fuck up the world again and only James Bond can stop them. However, after the events of Spectre, Bond retired to Jamaica to live out the rest of his days in a far more chill lifestyle. While he was gone, it appears ‘007’ was reassigned to somebody else in the MI6.
“There is a pivotal scene at the start of the film where M says ‘Come in 007’, and in walks Lashana,” a source told Daily Mail. “It’s a popcorn-dropping moment. Bond is still Bond but he’s been replaced as 007 by this stunning woman.”
The source continued: “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.”
Naturally, these quotes are racking up the numbers on social media but with no official word, we’re left to our own devices. Nevertheless, it’s still cool as hell.
Elsewhere, Variety reports the excellent Christoph Waltz will return as the villainous, albeit polite baddie Blofeld in Bond 25.
The film is directed by Carey Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, season one) and co-stars Academy Award-winner Rami Malek, Ana De Armas, David Dencik, Billy Magnussen, Dali Benssalah, Jeffrey Wright, Ben Whishaw, and Rory Kinnear.
Back in April, Killing Eve creator / absolute badass Phoebe Waller-Bridge was recruited to polish off the script. The following month, after some criticism, she openly defended James Bond’s continual relevance in today’s age in an interview with Deadline.
There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not Bond is relevant now because of who he is and the way he treats women. I think that’s bollocks I think he’s absolutely relevant now. The franchise has just got to grow. It has just got to evolve, and the important thing is that the film treats the women properly. He doesn’t have to. He needs to be true to his character.
Waller-Bridge is only the second woman in Bond history to be credited on a script, after Johanna Hardwood who wrote Dr. No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963).
Bond 25 is slated for release April 2020.
