Before Daniel Craig officially announced his return for the untitled Bond 25, it seemed every male actor under the sun (see: Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba, et cetera) was linked with the supposedly vacant role of 007.
Among those mooted reports were one or two rumors of a female-fronted reboot, as well, one which would have welcomed an actress like Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) into the ranks of MI6. It would certainly play into the whole gender-swapping craze that has gripped Hollywood in recent years, resulting in such projects as Ocean’s 8 and Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters, along with mooted female-flipped reboots of The Nice Guys and 21 Jump Street.
But when it comes to James Bond, in particular, Rachel Weisz (real-life partner to current 007, Daniel Craig) disputed the idea of a female-led reboot on the belief that “women should have their own stories.”
Why not create your own story rather than jumping on to the shoulders and being compared to all those other male predecessors? Women are really fascinating and interesting and should get their own stories.
And though some may argue that the brand recognition of, say, James Bond or Ghostbusters will help drive ticket sales, Weisz makes a salient point about gender-swapping existing characters. Frankly, it’s lazy screenwriting and only limits Hollywood’s leading ladies to existing male roles (and vice versa, should the project go in the other direction).
For Bond 25, all we know for sure is that screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are working on a treatment for the long-brewing follow-up, thereby extending their streak to five films having worked across Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.
Other than the November 8th, 2019 due date, details are still scarce, and we imagine MGM won’t be ready to unveil any official casting or plot details until it settles on a distributor. As always though, watch this space for more.
