As James Bond prepares for his 25th big-screen outing, talk has again turned to the idea of a female 007. However, among the idea's naysayers, Rachel Weisz has also said she doesn't think it is a good idea.
First published in Ian Flemming's Casino Royale in 1952, James Bond was stereotypically a martini-swilling womanizer who slept his way through many a dangerous mission. Nowadays, the "Bond Girls" that he has shared his novels and movies with are almost as famous as he is, meaning that Bond is very much a man's man. However, with Judi Dench providing a brilliant gender-switch as MI6's M, could a female Bond also work as well? As the wife of current 007 Daniel Craig, Weisz certainly seems to think it is the wrong route to take the long-running franchise.
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Speaking to The Telegraph, the 47-year-old made her feelings quite clear on Jane Bond instead of James:
"[Fleming] devoted an awful lot of time to writing this particular character, who is particularly male and relates in a particular way to women. Why not create your own story rather than jumping on to the shoulders and being compared to all those other male predecessors? Women are really fascinating and interesting and should get their own stories."
It's an interesting concept that the women of the Bond world get their own stories instead of piggybacking what has been already established over the decades. Across the many years of 007 movies, women like Dench's M, Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore, Grace Jones' May Day, and Eva Green's Vesper have injected their own feminine wiles into the misogynistic life of the notorious spy. We've already seen how powerful/dangerous the women of this world can be, so why wouldn't we want to explore it further?
While Craig is confirmed to return for one more adventure, the future of the suave spy is very much in the air. With no director attached to Bond 25, it has been a struggle to even get here. It looks like Craig will be out after his fifth movie, meaning that one of the most important casting races in Hollywood will officially open its doors. Everyone from Idris Elba to Chris Hemsworth has thrown their hat into the ring, and even X-Files legend Gillian Anderson has said she would love to play a female Bond. Plus, with the rights to the series on offer, anyone could take over and do whatever they want with 007.
With a female Doctor Who and ideas of a female Thor already dominating our screens, talk about giving 007 a feminine makeover has been in the cards for a while now. Only last year, David Leitch released Atomic Blonde as a gritty take on the spy genre and adaptation of graphic novel The Coldest City. With Charlize Theron as a superb lead, Leitch's movie again sparked debate about a female Bond. For the time being, it looks like 007 will continue the legacy that Fleming intended, but don't expect it to stay this way forever. The studios could always start work on a Moneypenny spin-off to expand the Bond franchise, well, if it works for John Wick, then why not the most notorious spy in all of cinema?
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Source: The Telegraph
