Since Daniel Craig announced he was standing down as James Bond, debate has raged whether the next 007 should be a woman, or black. Now, the UK’s Mail on Sunday has revealed that she will be both – as British actress Lashana Lynch is said to take up the role.
According to the report, the upcoming, yet-to-be-titled 25th Bond film will reveal Lynch as the next 007 with Craig’s character coming out of retirement for one last mission.
“There is 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,” a Bond insider claimed in the report. “It’s a popcorn-dropping moment. Bond is still Bond but he’s been replaced as 007 by this stunning woman.”
However, traditionalists can relax: she’s not the new Bond, but a new character who takes over his secret agent number after he leaves MI6.
Lynch, 31, had a breakthrough role as the fighter pilot Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel, released earlier this year.
Originally from Hammersmith, West London, she made her debut in the 2011 drama Fast Girls, has appeared in Silent Witness and Death In Paradise and was a regular cast member on the short-lived 2015 BBC show Crims. She also played Rosaline Capulet in the American period drama series Still Star-Crossed, set after the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
“This is a Bond for the modern era who will appeal to a younger generation while sticking true to what we all expect in a Bond film,” the source told the Mail on Sunday. “There are spectacular chase sequences and fights, and Bond is still Bond but he’s having to learn to deal with the world of #MeToo.”
