Women Are Too Good For The Role Of James Bond

Daniel Craig’s time as Bond is over, but a woman shouldn’t replace him.

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In the words of everyone’s favourite politician, Keir Starmer, it’s time for James Bond to become a woman. I’m not saying he needs to transition or anything, but society is warming to the idea that the legendary spy has reached a place where he can be portrayed by an actress instead of the long list of men who have occupied those legendary shoes over the years. Doctor Who did so successfully with Jodie Whittaker, while Pinhead is being played by a badass trans woman in the new Hellraiser, but I think Bond’s case is different.

While Daniel Craig has sought to reinvent Bond – and has done so successfully during his tenure – the character remains a figure defined by toxic masculinity. He is known to take advantage of women for sex, often leaving them to die or subjecting them to danger in ways that are needlessly reckless. But he’s able to play the hero, so replacing his main squeeze in every other movie is hardly an issue. Spectre and No Time To Die subverted this trope, seeing Lea Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann return as a capable heroine with her own distinct flaws and motivations.

Some fans weren’t happy about this development, feeling like Bond’s dedication to a serialised tale made it feel unfocused and bloated. But as our own Stacey Henley said, it’s the perfect sequel to Spectre, all because it cares so much about the groundwork laid so carefully before it. Not a single note of the film feels misplaced.

She wasn’t subject to Bond’s wishes. In the opening moments she appears to betray him, so he pushes her away and struggles with the nature of his emotions when she’s suddenly thrust back into his life. He’s the weak one now, having to contend with past mistakes while putting Madeleine first in an adventure that will ultimately be his last. It’s a powerful message that has changed James Bond forever, and whoever picks up the mantle next (here’s hoping it’s Daniel Kaluuya) will carry all of those lessons with them as Craig saunters off into the sunset, or into Knives Out 2 from the looks of things.

Despite this progress, James Bond doesn’t need to be portrayed by a woman. It’s a role with so much problematic packaging that stems right back to Ian Fleming’s heinously misogynistic novels. I’m serious, those things are disgusting, and we’re lucky the cinematic adaptations toned down so much of the awful sexualisation and outdated tropes the books seem to revel in. The film execution of Bond can certainly be gross, but I’d never call him a monster, at least not since Connery’s days. Daniel Craig’s performance especially depicts an aged, almost cynical man who understands the corrupt systems he must operate within, killing like it’s nothing and struggling to ground himself in the realm of retirement once all is said and done. His dedication to this profession and those who became entangled in it will quite literally be the death of him.

It’s a declaration of how the 007 moniker dooms people to oblivion, because they’re pulled into saving the world again and again even if they want no part of it. No wonder he goes rogue in almost every film – Bond has it rough. Placing a woman into this role feels unwise, since it shackles them to the exact same vices that Daniel Craig and his predecessors were forced to hold again and again and again. Lashana Lynch’s excellent performance as Nomi almost cements that idea. She bears the 007 name, but she isn’t James Bond as a consequence. She’s her own person, a bold, brash, and decidedly modern iteration of the agent she’s spent years admiring. In a way she feels like she needs to surpass him, to outsmart Bond at his own game as she’s tasked with hunting him down. In the end she returns the codename, believing it should sit with the person who helped define everything it will ever mean. Nomi doesn’t always have the upper hand, but she doesn’t have to – she’s flawed just like everybody else.

The Bond universe should strive to create excellent roles for women like Madeleine Swann and Nomi outside of the titular character, showing that supporting personalities needn’t be sexual achievements for the protagonist or nagging, motherly stereotypes who exist purely to act as lazy archetypes to move the plot along. They can have narrative arcs of their own, complimenting the central story while also being a fundamental part of it. No Time To Die achieved this, and makes the case that Bond shouldn’t be a woman far more than he should. The backlash towards casting one in this role would be inconceivable – just imagine if it was Brie Larson – but we could arguably outsmart these predictable trolls by assembling characters who ascend what Bond is capable of inside his own universe.

The next Bond, whoever it might be, needs to reinvent the iconic personality once more, this time into one that is more welcoming and inclusive, even if he’s portrayed by yet another straight cis white man. This will be the key to more meaningful, less conventional films that can take the novelisations and reinvent them in ways that showcase how tired and outdated they truly are. I won’t complain if Bond is eventually portrayed by a woman, and think it will happen eventually, but I’d much prefer unique fictional identities be crafted in his wake instead of slotting them into a character who will forever be defined by sexism and misogyny. Women are better than Bond, and that’s something that will be proven again and again in the years to come.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/women-james-bond-role/