Here are all the details we know so far.
Getty Images
Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more buzz about the next James Bond film, news leaked on July 14 that British actor Lashana Lynch might be taking over the iconic role of 007 from Daniel Craig.
Speculation about who might step into the secret agent’s calfskin leather shoes has been rampant for years now, with Idris Elba‘s name picking up the most momentum, so Lynch’s selection is a trail-blazing move that no one saw coming.
This will hardly be her first blockbuster, as Lynch appeared as Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel earlier this year, and the actor has also been featured in British television series like Bulletproof, Crims, and Still Star-Crossed.
But after a string of Bonds played exclusively by white men, the selection of an actor who is both black and female has many portions of the internet fairly rippling with excitement.
But before we get too far into this, let’s talk about what the Captain Marvel actor’s specific role will be in the franchise’s 25th installment, due out in 2020, because from what we’re hearing, it’s not necessarily an exact hand-off.
According to a report in the British outlet The Daily Mail on Sunday, Lynch will play the MI6 agent who has been assigned Bond’s former number in the wake of his retirement.
According to an insider on the film, which is currently in the midst of shooting, this revelation comes early on in the movie, during a scene when Ralph Fiennes‘s character, M, says, “Come in, 007,” and in walks Lynch. Goosebumps.
As excited fans have been quick to point out, however, the simple fact that Lynch’s character — who is reportedly named Nomi — has picked up the 007 code name doesn’t necessarily mean that she’ll keep it.
Especially with Bond coming out of retirement to, y’know, save the world again, he’ll probably want or need to reclaim his previous title, and there’s no guarantee that Lynch will move forward as the franchise’s main protagonist.
That said, Craig hasn’t been at all shy about his plans to leave the character behind after his fifth outing in the legendary role.
“I’m over it at the moment, ” he told The Guardian in 2015, shortly after the premiere of Spectre adding, “We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”
And while he backpedaled those comments in 2017 when he acknowledged he’d be starring in one more film after all, he was clear that his fifth appearance would be his last.
“I just want to go out on a high note, and I can’t wait,” the star told Stephen Colbert.
So given Craig’s eagerness to move on, you’d have to assume that the stage will be set for the next Bond’s ascension in the 2020 film, and if the rumors are true, it would be hard to imagine anyone more perfectly placed to take up the mantle than Lynch herself.
Until an official announcement, of course, there’s no way to know what the move signifies, but having a WOC as 007 is a major event either way, so right this way to join the internet in celebration.
