LÂ ast July, when it was first rumoured that Lashana Lynch might play 007 in No Time To Die, the reaction was as thoughtless and backward as weâve come to expect. According to some fans, a woman was âtaking over the role of Bondâ (she isnât) â and it was all down to a sudden case of âpolitical correctnessâ (itâs not, unless you assume that white men are a human default setting). Really, the only response to this news should have been excitement. If it wasnât already clear, last week’s No Time To Die trailer has made it abundantly so: Lynch’s 00-agent Nomi is not just the Bond franchiseâs present, she should also be its future.
Before you all start firing your Walther PPKs at me, Iâm a fan of Bond. While Daniel Craigâs tenure has been hit and miss â Casino Royale is the best entry in the series, but both Quantum of Solace and Spectre were disappointments â it’s likely that he’ll go out on a high in November. That said, casting Lashana Lynch in the lead once he departs would be the most exciting thing to happen in the world of Bond for ages. On an optics level, the impact is obvious. Having a dark-skinned Black woman save the world shouldnât still feel like a novelty in 2020 but it is, and giving the spotlight to Lynchâs Nomi would instantly put Universal Studios and Eon ahead of the game.
Even more importantly, Lynch was born to play this role â and more people are beginning to realise it. The latest teaser was stuffed with exciting moments â Ana de Armas kicking butt! A plane that turns into a submarine! Bond in the jungle! â but on social media, fans were even more excited (and rightly so) by a shot of Nomi looking badass as she walks through a nightclub.
Whether sheâs serving looks in the trailer (see above), wielding machine guns or driving an Aston Martin, Lynch is doing everything that Bond does already â and looking good while doing it. If you need more proof of her chops, just look at Lynch’s brilliant turn in Captain Marvel. She may not have had much screen time in the 2019 comic book smash, but she brought emotional depth to hot-shot pilot Maria Rambeau, something Craig has also done for Bond.
Of course, itâs important to remember that weâve been here before. In 2002, there was much talk of a spin-off for Halle Berryâs Jinx â an NSA agent who teams up with Pierce Brosnanâs Bond in Die Another Day â but it never came to fruition. Now, the series is at another crossroads. If Nomi proves a big hit with audiences, itâs a ready-made opportunity to expand the world of 007 and take the series to new heights.
âOne of the biggest reasons I did Casino Royale is the line: âA vodka martini, please.â âShaken or stirred?â My reply was written in the script as, âDo I look like I give a fuck?â And thatâs it. Thatâs the reason I did it,” Craig told Empire last year. “Because what I could not do, what I refused to do, was repeat what had gone before. What was the fucking point?â
This is a message that the Bond franchise should take to heart. Every few years, a new white man comes in to take over the role of Bond. The gadgets may be different, the car may have a new (or classic) sheen, but thereâs an underlying formula thatâs remained more or less unchanged for 24 films. That long run proves that the formula works, but if ever there was a time to not ârepeat what has gone beforeâ, itâs now. âThe mission that changes everything beginsâ is the tagline for the latest trailer. No Time To Die can be the setup. A 007 film led by Lynch can be the follow-through.
The post Move over Bond, Lashana Lynch is the future of the 007 franchise appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
