Report: Actress Lashana Lynch Is the New 007

Actress Lashana Lynch has been cast as the new 007, according to a report in the Guardian.

The Guardian reports a “movie insider” says the next Bond film, which opens in April, has a “pivotal scene at the start of the film where M says, ‘Come in 007,’ and in walks Lashana who is black, beautiful and a woman,” the source said. “It’s a popcorn-dropping moment. Bond is still Bond but he’s been replaced as 007.”

Lashana Lynch, who is 31, is probably best known as Captain Marvel’s best pal, Maria Rambeau.

The source adds: “Bond, of course, is sexually attracted to the new female 007 and tries his usual seduction tricks, but is baffled when they don’t work on a brilliant, young black woman who basically rolls her eyes at him and has no interest in jumping into his bed. Well, certainly not at the beginning.”

Those familiar with the James Bond franchise know that “007” is not a person but a title, with the double “0” denoting a license to kill. So it makes sense that if Bond retires the title of “007” would go to another agent.

While “007” is iconic and will always be associated with James Bond, it is as transferable of a title as, say, “Director of the Secret Service” or “assistant principal.” And as we saw recently with “M” (the person in charge of MI6), within BondWorld, that kind of title does transfer from character to character; but the character is not replaced.

What’s more, the Guardian reports that the whole concept of the upcoming film (number 25) has Bond (Daniel Craig) called out of retirement in Jamaica to fight some bad guys, so this next chapter will still be a James Bond movie with a guy playing James Bond. It is not as though the producers have decided to slit their own throats by casting a girl as Bond.

What the producers could be doing is looking to expand the Bond universe with a female 007, which is fine just as long as there is still a James Bond and James Bond is always male, straight, and British.

If I had to lay money on this, my guess is that James Bond will always be 007 and that this is just a publicity stunt and story twist; or a way to try and placate the woke mob, who will not be placated until Bond is a transsexual Koran lesbian with a harelip who fights for Antifa.

This could also be a head fake on the media’s part to fabricate another “hoaxtroversy,” even though this kind of casting is not a first for the Bond series and no one cared about the previous gender and racial flips.

Judi Dench took over the role of “M” in 1995, a role previously played by men for some 30 years. Bernard Lee originated the role in Dr. No (1962) and held on through Moonraker (1979).

After Lee died of cancer in 1981, out of respect for the beloved actor, the role was not filled for For Your Eyes Only (1981). Then, in 1983’s Octopussy, Robert Brown played “M,” but as a different character assigned to the title.

By the way, in 1999’s The World is Not Enough, there is a tribute to Lee in the form of a painting hanging in the MI6 building — which again proves that the character was not replaced.

Anyway, from 1995’s Goldeneye to 2012’s Skyfall, Dench stepped into the role through seven films.

Ralph Fiennes replaced Dench in 2015’s Spectre, and again, Fiennes played a character assuming the title of “M.”

Finally, there is Miss Moneypenny, who is not a title but an actual character.

After three white women played the role for 40 years  (Lois Chiles — the Sean Connery/George Lazenby/Roger Moore era from 1962 – 1985; Caroline Bliss — the Timothy Dalton era from 1987-1989; Samantha Bond: the Pierce Brosnan era from 1995 – 2002), Naomie Harris, a black actress, took over during the Daniel Craig era starting in 2012, and not only did no one care, she is dynamite in the role, my personal favorite Moneypenny.

As far as the romance between Bond and the new 007, Bond’s first interracial romance is 46 years-old, occurred in 1973’s Live and Let Die, so again there will be nothing new there, although I’m sure everyone will pretend there is.

Eon Productions has a real golden goose with the Bond franchise, so golden that even lousy Bond movies like Spectre gross $900 million. The company would be nuts to mess with the formula, to make 007 anyone but James Bond — anyone but a straight, British male. That is who James Bond is and if they mess with that, they can call it a James Bond movie but it won’t be and that golden goose is cooked.

 

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