Moneypenny Star Lists The Qualities Of The Next James Bond Regardless Of The Role Being “Male Or Female”

James Bond’s Moneypenny star lists the qualities necessary in the next “male or female” 007, when the character returns in Bond 26. Times are changing for the venerable spy movie series, following Amazon MGM Studios’ Bond franchise acquisition from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson’s Eon Productions. It’s yet to be seen what happens with Bond 26 casting as the series passes into a new set of creative hands, but Amazon’s stewardship would seem to open a larger array of possibilities than Broccoli and Wilson were ever willing to consider, including the chance of a female Bond.

A gender-swapped Bond would indeed be a game-changer for the 007 franchise, but the series’ Moneypenny star Naomie Harris thinks there are certain bedrock qualities the next Bond actor must have, regardless of whether they’re male or female, and she recently listed them (via Radio Times):

Sophistication, sexiness, mystery, sense of humor, charm – that should play the role, male or female.

What This Means For The Bond Franchise

Broccoli Was Dead-Set Against A Female Bond

Sean Connery set the template for all James Bonds with his debonair, dryly humorous Dr. No portrayal. The most recent Bond, Daniel Craig, represented only a slight deviation from tradition, being a little grittier and less polished than his predecessors, and less given to blatant misogyny. Eon saw the need to match the times by tweaking Bond, but would never consider doing anything radical, like making the character a woman, as Broccoli herself made plain in a 2021 interview with THR:

“I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond. I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles. I don’t think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race].”

Now with the risk-averse Broccoli and Wilson team out of the picture, everything is seemingly on the table, a fact reflected in Harris’ comments, which see her apparently endorsing the idea of a gender-swapped Bond.

Lashana Lynch became the first female to sport the 007 designation in No Time To Die (before handing it back to Craig’s Bond)

But Harris makes it plain that, whatever the gender of the next Bond actor, there are certain qualities they must have in order to embody the character. The Moneypenny star seems to think you can change certain things about Bond outwardly, but their essence must remain in line with the Bonds of old, beginning with Connery and continuing right on up to Craig.

Our Take On What The Next Bond Actor Must Have

Bond Can Only Change Up To A Point

Leading James Bond into a new era has never been an easy task. With their turn coming up, Amazon could elect to play it safe and cast a reasonably traditional Bond actor, like former candidate Henry Cavill, or recent betting favorite Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Or they could swing for the fences and make Bond female, or a person-of-color, or of an unlikely nationality. The desire to satisfy international audiences could lead new Bond producers to cast someone of Asian or Indian descent to next play 007.

But Harris is right when she indicates that things like gender ultimately don’t matter much in the James Bond equation. Whoever plays the role must embody all the traits she lists, or else they won’t really be portraying James Bond. A female James Bond is much easier to imagine than a James Bond who isn’t sexy, or mysterious, or charming. No Time to Die killed off its iteration of James Bond with a missile strike, but if Bond 26 veers too far from the character’s essence, it won’t just be the main character that blows up, but the whole franchise.

Source: Radio Times