The James Bond franchise has been entertaining audiences for decades, and is showing no signs of slowing down. The beloved property will finally return to theaters with No Time to Die, which will also be Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007. And it turns out that director Cary Joji Fukunaga really pushed for the movie’s female characters to have more equity on screen.
The Bond movies have had a somewhat storied history with its female characters, especially during its early stages. Daniel Craig’s tenure has certainly seen women treated less like objects, and No Time to Die will feature two new agents in Nomi and Paloma, played by Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas respectively. Lynch spoke to how Cary Fukunaga advocated for No Time to Die’s female characters alongside Barbara Broccoli and Craig, saying:
Cary had big discussions with Barbara and Daniel about how to give the female characters equity, how to keep them in charge of themselves, how to give them solo moments where the audience learns who they are. It was really important to empower the female characters as stand-alones. And I think that he kept that in mind throughout the whole shoot. I didn’t feel like Nomi, as a young Black woman, was constantly standing behind the white guy, which, for me, is job done. And that was a very conscious decision for Cary.
It certainly sounds like we’re in a new era of Bond. Because on top of No Time to Die featuring a number of significant female characters, special care was given to each one. That’s especially true for Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, who takes on the mantle of 007 after James Bond retires in the new movie.
Lashana Lynch’s comments to THR come from a long-form piece about the work of No Time to Die director Cary Fukunaga. The movie broke new ground when Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge joined the writing team to help punch things up. Add in a quartet of capable female characters, and it’s clear that those involved in Bond 25 were trying to do better than the franchise’s somewhat bumpy past.
As previously mentioned, Lashana Lynch’s character Nomi is far from the only femme fatale involved in No Time to Die. Ana de Armas is making her franchise debut in the upcoming movie, playing a CIA agent who assists Bond. There are also two returning female characters with Léa Seydoux’s Dr. Madeleine Swann and Naomie Harris’ Eve Moneypenny. Many of these actresses have praised the way their character was treated in the upcoming sequel, especially when it comes to being independent of Bond.
Luckily for fans of James Bond our questions about No Time to Die will be answered shortly. Daniel Craig’s final bow in the franchise hits theaters on October 8th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
