After Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond in No Time To Die, Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny should get her own spinoff. Like Bond, M’s secretary Miss Moneypenny has been portrayed by several actors over the years, including Lois Maxwell, Caroline Bliss, and Samantha Bond. Harris’ Moneypenny debuted in 2012’s Skyfall opposite Craig and was updated to reflect the changing times. The character was given a first name (Eve) and her backstory was altered to include time spent as an MI6 field agent.

While usually relegated to a smaller role, wherein she and Bond exchange flirtatious dialogue, Harris’ Moneypenny was able to be far more active and assisting Bond on missions throughout Skyfall and 2015’s Spectre. In fact, Skyfall opens with Bond and Moneypenny pursuing a mercenary who has stolen a hard drive containing the names of undercover agents. While Bond and the mercenary wrestle on top of a moving train, Moneypenny aim and - on M’s orders - fires, accidentally shooting Bond and kickstarting the movie’s subversive plot. At the end of Skyfall, she announces her retirement from fieldwork and becomes secretary to the newly-appointed M (Ralph Fiennes). That said, she doesn’t stay desk-bound for long and is set to play a larger role in the upcoming No Time To Die.

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With rumors abound Bond might be gender-swapped in the future, a spinoff featuring Harris’ Moneypenny as the lead would be a good way to test the waters and, perhaps, convince Bond’s more conservative fans that women can (and should) amount to more than simple eye-candy in an action-packed spy narrative. It would appear director Barry Jenkins agrees with this sentiment, having discussed a potential Moneypenny spinoff with Harris on the set of 2016’s Oscar-winning Moonlight. That said, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli didn’t seem particularly interested in the concept, but - as Harris later told the hosts of Good Morning America in 2019 - “the conversation has started at least”.

Naomie Harris as Moneypenny in Skyfall

The idea of a Bond spinoff isn’t particularly new, with various attempts being made throughout the years - including pitches focusing on Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) from Tomorrow Never Dies or Giacinta “Jinx” Johnson (Halle Berry) from 2002’s Die Another Day. Unfortunately, none of these potential spinoffs amounted to anything in the end, rejected on rather questionable grounds which implied a woman of color couldn’t possibly lead a hit action movie. Nowadays, the market (and studios) seem more receptive to female-driven genre films - provided, at least, they’re part of a well-known franchise.

With Daniel Craig’s departure from the Bond series set to occur after No Time To Die, now could be the perfect time to launch a Moneypenny spinoff. If Barry Jenkins wishes to be involved, all the better. At the end of the day, Bond will probably be rebooted anyway when Craig leaves, making the events of a spinoff less impactful on the franchise as a whole. On the other hand, taking risks is something the Bond series ought to do more of if it wants to keep up with the DCs and MCUs of this world; or, as M says to Bond in GoldenEye, it runs the risk of becoming a “relic of the Cold War”.

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