The next James Bond will be played by a woman, a black woman. This revolutionary change has been announced a few days after Sean Connery’s death, the mythological face of the most famous British secret agent in the world.
A double revolution for James Bond who is about to cross borders never explored. It seems like Sean Connery’s death represented the opportunity to make a clean break with the past of 007 and dare something that had never been done before. The secret agent will in fact (temporarily) be played by Lashana Lynch. A great surprise for a saga where the role of the woman was cut out in the seductive forms of the Bond Girl (how to forget the first outstanding one played by Ursula Andress) who responded to a precise aesthetic canon and a subordinate role. Lashana Lynch will actually be Nomi, the new 007 agent in No Time To Die (expected in movie theaters in April 2021) who will join James Bond (played by Daniel Craig) as he slowly abandons the film during the scenes (but then he reconsidered). “I didn’t want to waste an opportunity when it came to what Nomi could represent,” the actress said in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “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 per cent authentic.”
When news broke out that a black woman would be 007, Lynch became a target of resentment. For a week she had had to cancel her social media apps, knowing that the shamefully outraged comments are the legacy of a distant cultural integration. “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”. Age 32, Jamaican Lashana Lynch was born in London and she only played 5 films and a few episodes in several TV series. The role of actress meant for her not only entertainment but also commitment.
No Time To Die (directed by Cary Fukunaga) reconnects to the end of Spectre (directed by Sam Mendes) where an almost sore and tired Daniel Craig, ready for retirement, is able to keep the button of his jacket closed even while running away from a building that collapses over him. Class does not age, after all.
