Lynch redefining what 007 means
When “No Time to Die” hits theaters on Friday — a full year and a half after its original release date — it will be the first movie in James Bond’s nearly 60-year history to feature a female 007, played by “Captain Marvel” breakout Lashana Lynch.
The British Jamaican actor plays Nomi, a new agent who enters the service shortly after Bond (Daniel Craig, starring in his fifth and final outing) retires and inherits his legendary code number.
“Nomi is a fine example of your modern-day woman who doesn’t take anything lying down and who gives everyone and anyone a run for their money,” Lynch said. “Mentally, physically, energetically and spiritually, she has everything covered so that whatever questions you had about women and this franchise are shot down completely.”
With the role, Lynch becomes just the fifth
Black female actor to have a major role in a Bond film across 25 movies (Gloria Hendry, Grace Jones, Halle Berry and Naomie Harris round out the list).
“They were fantastic,” said Lynch of her predecessors. “When Halle Berry was in it, when Naomie was in it — who’s now a friend so I appreciate her even more — it just meant that I could relate to this very quintessentially English franchise and actually relate it to my life. I didn’t need to be a fighter or know how to handle a gun or anything like that to be able to relate to these women. They just felt like members of my family on screen.”
Lynch’s casting announcement was met with outrage from misogynistic and racist trolls who can’t imagine the mantle of 007 being held by anyone but a white man. “I don’t have anything to say to the trolls apart from it’s none of my business what you think, you have the freedom to live in your truth just like I have the freedom to live in mine,” she said.
As for the young Black women who will get to see themselves represented, Lynch empathizes. “We (Black women) know how it feels to be mis- and under-represented, and we know how it feels to yearn for someone, anyone in the world to speak our truth for us when we feel like we don’t have a voice. And I’m hoping that my career and my choice in roles and me just being me, authentically, is shining a light on our power.”
Details about “No
Time to Die” have been shrouded in secrecy. And when asked what at all she can say about the film, Lynch is strategic.
“‘No Time to Die’ feels very much like a few genres in one,” she said. “It’s kind of a feast for new cinemagoers who love classic cinema but love a throw forward so you’re keeping it fresh whilst respecting the classics. You’re given the drama, the romance, the action . ... You have the explosions, the intimate moments, the tension.
“I know that every Bond film has given loads of that in different ways, but I feel like this one is really special in the way that they cultivated and carved out an area of its own.”
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