Nearly 60 years after Sean Connery brought James Bond to the big screen — Daniel Craig is taking his final turn as the 007 agent, in his fifth and final film, No Time to Die. This James Bond 2021 film is set to make history.
The BAFTA-Award nominee has brought an emotional depth to the beloved character that we haven’t seen before.
Though his successor has been revealed — No Time to Die has steered in a new direction of the James Bond franchise through two of the film’s leading women.
Historically, female leads in a James Bond film have been known as simply ‘bond girls’. For a while, that term stuck, despite the evolution of female leads present in the James Bond franchise, and it was something that eventually stuck out as a sign of how the franchise could be outdated.
While, typically, ‘bond girls’ are usually there to be seduced/saved by 007, it seems No Time to Die will bring the character of Bond to a place where he is now working alongside them.
According to Collider, No Time to Die is currently scheduled to arrive in US theatres on October 8, 2021. In the UK, the movie is set to have an earlier premiere, releasing on September 30, 2021. The world premiere will be held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 28 September and will also be screened at the Zurich Film Festival on the same day.
Directed and co-written by Cary Fukunaga, No Time to Die features a lead cast of Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen and Rami Malek.
Not only will the highly-anticipated spy film bid farewell to the retiring James Bond actor, Daniel Craig, but it will be a huge turning point for the Bond franchise.
“I think we’ve watched the guys do it for the last 40 years, get out of the way, guys, and put a woman up there. I think it would be exhilarating, it would be exciting.”
– ex-Bond, Pierce Brosnan
So without further ado, let’s meet the new female agents who are changing 007’s history.
Lashana Lynch
This British Bombshell Is The Next 007 And Is Smashing All Stereotypes
It’s official, the wait is over the ‘Captain Marvel’ Star Lashana Lynch, will be cast as the new 007 in ‘Bond 25’.
We begin our spy film with a red herring: Lashana Lynch. In fact, she takes over the role of Daniel Craig in No Time to Die.
The upcoming, much-delayed 25th Bond movie opens with everyone’s favourite spy enjoying his retirement, which has opened up his double-O slot at MI6.
Lashana Lynch’s character: the agent, Nomi, gets the gig, which does make her the new 007 but doesn’t make her the new James Bond.
However, this did not come as easy news.
When, on a Sunday afternoon in April of last year, the news leaked that a woman of colour would be inheriting the 007 lead role, Lynch immediately experienced an onslaught of outrage.
According to Bazaar, for a week, she deleted her social media apps, meditated and saw no one but family, while comforting herself with the knowledge that the aggressive comments were ultimately not personal.
“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.” – Lashana Lynch
Lynch is of Jamaican descent and was born in Hammersmith, London. She attended ArtsEd drama school in London and made her film debut in the 2012 drama film Fast Girls.
She later co-starred in the BBC television film The 7.39. In 2019, she played fighter pilot Maria Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Captain Marvel.
And now she stars in the leading role of the Bond film, No Time To Die.
Initially, when the Bond opportunity came about, Lynch had reservations about joining another franchise – about getting lost “behind the man”, as she puts it – but on speaking with the producer Barbara Broccoli and the director Cary Joji Fukunaga, she understood that their intentions ran alongside hers.
“I didn’t want to waste an opportunity when it came to what Nomi might represent. I searched for at least one moment in the script where Black audience members would nod their heads.” – Lashana Lynch
It sounds like Lynch’s 007 is going to bring a much-needed new perspective to the Bond franchise.
“No Time To Die represents change. We see so many examples of women being strong in this movie and being badass at that.”
– Lashana Lynch
Ana de Armas
This Cuban Star Is The Next Bond Girl, The First Latin American To Achieve It.
One of the exciting highlights of the new James Bond movie No Time To Die will be Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas, who will play Paloma, a CIA agent.
“She is sexy, crazy and fights with high heels”, describes Ana de Armas. Of course, she has all the seductive appeal to do it, but there is much more to the new bond agent than you think.
She is more than just eye-candy.
Ana de Armas described Paloma as something that ‘hadn’t been seen’ yet in Bond girls, over the franchise’s 59-year span.
Talking to Metro, Ana explained: “Paloma is a really complete character. She’s definitely something else that I don’t think we’ve seen in other Bond girls in previous movies. She’s a lot of fun — very active, very badass.”
Ana de Armas grew up in Havana, Cuba and dreamt of becoming an actress since she was 12 years old. She enrolled at the National Theater School of Cuba. After four years of study, de Armas appeared in her first local film, Una rosa de Francia, in 2006.
Before setting her sights on Hollywood, de Armas was well aware that she would be starting over without any of the name recognition she’d built up in Cuba and Spain, but she still persevered.
Ana de Armas’ arrival in the United States was not easy, but she describes herself as ‘persistent’. Without speaking English and taking intensive language courses, the following years were marked by great successes for the actress.
If you recognise the star, there are many projects you might remember her from. Including her roles in the erotic thriller Knock Knock (2015) and the comedy-crime film War Dogs (2016). Her supporting role in the sports biopic Hands of Stone (2016) and in the science fiction film Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
In 2019, the Cuban actress had her break out, and after starring in Knives Out alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Daniel Craig, she got a nomination for the 2020 Golden Globes.
De Armas’s next major role, after No Time to Die will be in Netflix’s Blonde, a biopic about the life of Marilyn Monroe.
In an interview with Cinema Blend, the actress spoke of how short her training was due to the fact that she had to balance filming for both roles:
“I only had a few days to train, so I went straight from Blonde to shoot for Bond. I had the gun training and learned the choreography for the scenes. It was a short but really intense immersion into the Bond universe, so I quickly transformed into a CIA agent.” – Ana de Armas
“What matters most to me is representing women and female characters in an empowered, realistic way and out of stereotypes.”
– Ana de Armas
Whatever happens, there are some things about 007 that will never change. Bond ultimately will always come down to a few central facets.
Most people see the appeal as a certain formula. For example, the gadgets, the glamour of international travel, some kind of romance and big action set pieces that aren’t shot in front of a green screen.
However, James Bond is about to be reborn again, and after the revitalising Daniel Craig era, the possibilities feel endless.
Let’s see what the new Bond era has in store for us– we’ve been expecting you.
SEE MORE: Actress Rachel Shenton On All Creatures Great And Small, Oscar Wins And Upcoming Projects.