Bond 25 Writer Says The Franchise Needs To Treat Women Properly

News broke last month that Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) had been hired to spruce up the script for Bond 25, upon an invitation from Daniel Craig himself. Since then, we’ve heard that she’s been asked to strengthen the dialogue and the characters. In a new interview with Deadline, though, the writer/producer/actress explained in her own words how she’s contributing to Craig’s final outing as 007.

First of all, Waller-Bridge addressed an issue that’s surrounded the character of James Bond of late: the question of how he fits into a post-#MeToo world. She thinks Bond remains “absolutely relevant” so long as the films treat their female characters with respect – even if the super-spy himself doesn’t.

“There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not [the Bond franchise] 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. It 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 this character.”

Waller-Bridge then added that she’s always been a fan of what Craig’s brought to the character since 2005’s Casino Royale, so that’s what she’s trying to honor with her rewrite of the script.

“When I saw his Bond for the first time, there was a wryness to his performance that I really loved. So, I was really excited about writing dialogue for him. I mean, the script was there. It’s already there. I think it’s unfair to say that I’m writing the script.”

Finally, Waller-Bridge is very keen to ensure that the women of the movie – Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lunch and Ana de Armas – each have something to work with and that their characters “feel like real people.”

“I just want to make sure that when they get those pages through, that Lashana, Léa and Ana open them and go, ‘I can’t wait to do that.’ As an actress, I very rarely had that feeling early in my career. That brings me much pleasure, knowing that I’m giving that to an actress.”

Production on Bond 25 has currently been put on hold after an accident during filming in Jamaica resulted in Daniel Craig attaining an ankle injury. Hopefully he’ll recover and get back in the saddle soon though so that the movie can still make its release date of April 8th, 2020.