We’ve known it was the case for a while now anyway, but it’s finally official. Lashana Lynch will be playing the new 007 in No Time to Die. It was reported across the web about a year ago that the Captain Marvel star was taking over James Bond’s iconic spot in the British secret service in the 25th film in the series, but those involved with the movie have always played coy about it. However, a new interview with the actress now makes it clear.
Lynch spoke to Harper’s Bazaar for a profile piece, which confirms the nature of her role in the upcoming action flick. Her character, Nomi, is described as a “secret agent who inherits the 007 title while Bond himself is in exile.” The trailers only told us that she was a 00 agent who’d been on the job two years as well as teasing a rivalry between herself and Daniel Craig’s iconic spy. But now the cat is out of the bag and we can say that Lynch really is playing the franchise’s first female 007.
Unfortunately, when the news initially broke that this was the case, the decision was met with a lot of backlash on social media – partly because it was sometimes erroneously reported that Lynch was Craig’s replacement as Bond. The actress opened up to Harper’s Bazaar about that and how she’s had to come to terms with it and instead take pride in her “revolutionary” part.
“I am one Black woman, if it were another Black woman cast in the role, it would have been the same conversation, she would have got the same attacks, the same abuse. I just have to remind myself that the conversation is happening and that I’m a part of something that will be very, very revolutionary.”
Lynch also went on to explain that she was passionate about making sure the character of Nomi represented something about the real “Black experience” even within the confines of a Bond movie.
“I didn’t want to waste an opportunity when it came to what Nomi might represent. I searched for at least one moment in the script where Black audience members would nod their heads, tutting at the reality but glad to see their real life represented. In every project I am part of, no matter the budget or genre, the Black experience that I’m presenting needs to be 100 percent authentic.”
She may not be James Bond, but the actress might be back as 007 again, as there’ve been reports of her possibly getting a spinoff. For now, though, you can look forward to meeting Nomi when No Time to Die hits theaters (we hope) on April 2nd.
