Lashana Lynch as 007 and the Women of 'No Time to Die' (SPOILERS!)

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  • edited November 2019 Posts: 12,462
    Really excited to see her part in NTTD, even though it’s sure to be brief. Ana de Armas is one of the best choices for a Bond girl ever.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,179
    Interesting it’s a part that was written with her in mind by the director.
  • I've been thinking, would anyone like to see Lashana be the villain? They won't do it, but wouldn't it be cool to have her be an MI6 agent who is secretly bat-sh*t crazy and is revealed to be the main villain in the 3rd act. Sort of like what they tried to do with Miranda Frost. After all they flirted with the idea that Bill Tanner was a Spectre agent.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,179
    2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    I've been thinking, would anyone like to see Lashana be the villain? They won't do it, but wouldn't it be cool to have her be an MI6 agent who is secretly bat-sh*t crazy and is revealed to be the main villain in the 3rd act. Sort of like what they tried to do with Miranda Frost. After all they flirted with the idea that Bill Tanner was a Spectre agent.

    We’ve had crooked agents in every Bond film since DAD, I think it’s better we actually take a break from that trope.
  • 2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    I've been thinking, would anyone like to see Lashana be the villain? They won't do it, but wouldn't it be cool to have her be an MI6 agent who is secretly bat-sh*t crazy and is revealed to be the main villain in the 3rd act. Sort of like what they tried to do with Miranda Frost. After all they flirted with the idea that Bill Tanner was a Spectre agent.
    Oh no, not at all for me.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,205
    Hard to disagree when she's giving me that look.

    You and I are on the same wavelength. I, of course, would fight quite hard to get there first sir.
  • Recently re-watched 2049 and have to say that Ana De Armas is tremendous. Her role is really magnificent and I could probably write an essay on the character and the thematic relevance (imagine a human Alexa-meets-Tinder-meets a blow-up doll).

    But her performance is so authentic and vulnerable. She has beautiful and express doe eyes and really creates a real empathetic and soulful character. Considering she was a Cuban actress who spoke little English and had appeared in a handful of smutty English language films, it’s a huge leap for her.

    Of course the sublime direction of Villenueve helps – because Ana brings so much to the table in the role. I’m glad to hear that she’s getting a big role in Knives Out. Looking forward to Ana becoming a huge star in 2020.

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  • Posts: 3,164
    https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/why-knives-star-ana-de-armas-declined-audition-at-first-1258369?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
    Since you worked with Daniel quite a bit on this film, did you have immediate chemistry in your No Time to Die scenes several months later?

    Yeah, a movie like James Bond is a different kind of production. It’s a different mindset, physicality and preparation. It was terrifying to be asked to portray a “Bond Girl” who’s actually in a moment of change. Having met Daniel before and getting along so well on the set of Knives Out, there was nothing awkward when I got to the Bond set. There was no ice to be broken. It was just easy and smooth. Daniel is the most relentless, hard-working and professional actor you can imagine. He can be in pain from a broken bone, exhausted and still show up. He’s so serious about it, and the way he does it is just incredible and so respectable. It was so nice and helpful that we got along and got to know each other before Bond.

    I know you had met Bond producer Barbara Broccoli five years earlier, but do you know if Daniel recommended you to her and director Cary Fukunaga after you worked so well together on Knives Out?

    I think it was Cary’s idea. Some of the film takes place in Cuba, and Cary called me to say that this character doesn’t exist yet in the script but he kept thinking about me and would write it for me. When he brought up the idea to Barbara and Daniel, Daniel was completely on board and supportive of it, which made me very happy. We had literally wrapped Knives Out a month before that. When we were shooting Knives Out, he was already training and preparing for Bond, which wasn’t a part of my life yet. So, it happened to be a very happy coincidence.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    edited November 2019 Posts: 5,970
    2Wint2Kidd wrote: »
    I've been thinking, would anyone like to see Lashana be the villain? They won't do it, but wouldn't it be cool to have her be an MI6 agent who is secretly bat-sh*t crazy and is revealed to be the main villain in the 3rd act. Sort of like what they tried to do with Miranda Frost. After all they flirted with the idea that Bill Tanner was a Spectre agent.

    We’ve had crooked agents in every Bond film since DAD, I think it’s better we actually take a break from that trope.
    ...and would be a shame considering the potential of the character it seems we're getting has. It's a very fresh thing for them to do, and I wouldn't be a fan of that being pushed to the side to go down a more familiar route to them.

    I would definitely rather see Paloma (de Armas) be revealed as a villainous character if they were gonna do it, but I don't think they will. As we know I would've loved a proper femme-fatale in this film, but not at the sacrifice of what could be a great new character in Nomi :)
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,179
    Interesting that some want Lynch to be the villain that dies, or at least have de Armas be 007 instead.
  • I'm getting the distinct impression that there isn't a leading Bond girl this time out.....hear me out:

    1. Madeleine Swann:

    NTTD_Trailer_82.png

    So it turns out that she isn't being 'fridged'. In fact, the entire plot seems to be centred around Madeleine. I suspect that she plays a big role in the first act (Matera) and then disappears before reappearing at the end of act 2 (Blofeld's reveal) and stays in the film through to the end of act 3. She'll be central to the story and plot. But there will still be a sizeable amount of time where she won't be on screen. After all, the plot revolves on Bond being seperated from Madeleine for 5 years.

    2. Paloma:

    NTTD_Trailer_100.png

    She's pretty much only going to be in the Cuba scenes. Probably around a 15 minute portion of the film. She's clearly Felix's CIA contact there and there to add the 'classic Bond girl' element. It'll probably be a bigger role than Lucia, and similar to Severeine.

    3. Nomi:

    NTTD_Trailer_47.png

    I feel fairly certain that Nomi will be a large role. But she will turn up intermittently. She probably has a few big scenes in Jamaica. I suspect she's heavily involved in the action in Cuba (however, I suspect she won't have a lot more to do in Cuba as she isn't in fancy evening wear). By the time the 3rd act rolls along, I think she and Bond will become a team.

    So I suppose if we amass screentime, it'll be a contest between Seydoux and Lynch for the female lead. Based on the above, it's probably Lynch.

    Her relationship with Bond will be central to the film. She'll be adversarial to begin with and they will eventually bond. After all, they have had similar training and experience. I'm sure there is plenty of dramatic texture to mine there.....
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    Since her connections with Safin, SPECTRE and obviously James, Swann will be (again) the main Bond girl of the film. Having said that, Nomi will be a big character as well, no doubt.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,179
    Craig’s leading women have definitely all been pretty experimental as far as the Bond formula is concerned. Vesper Lynd having turned out to be a traitor and kills herself at the end. Camille in QOS not actually being a love interest but more of a kindred spirit of Bond. Judi Dench’s M is clearly the leading lady in SF but instead of a love interest is more of a motherly figure. Then with SP we finally have Madeleine Swann as the most traditional leading actress in his era as she’s actually accompanying Bond at the very end, something Craig never had in his first three films.

    With NTTD I suspect she will be the leading lady again, but this time not as a traditional one as I’m sure by the end they won’t be back together.
  • Posts: 4,603
    not really a spoiler but cant be too careful, just guessing

    - just a thought. DC has to finish the movie and his stint as 007 (surely?) and you cant have two 007s and you cant have a scene where Bond returns to reclaim his old number so they move Nomi to 011? (just silly) and I dont think she will return (working with another actor?). So that leaves the obvious option. I'm guessing, for all of the friction and banter, she will take a bullet for James.
  • patb wrote: »
    not really a spoiler but cant be too careful, just guessing

    - just a thought. DC has to finish the movie and his stint as 007 (surely?) and you cant have two 007s and you cant have a scene where Bond returns to reclaim his old number so they move Nomi to 011? (just silly) and I dont think she will return (working with another actor?). So that leaves the obvious option. I'm guessing, for all of the friction and banter, she will take a bullet for James.

    Well Bond retired at the end of SP to live with Madeleine. We know from CJF's interviews that he has since been living in Jamaica for 5 years.

    In that interim, Nomi was recruited as the new 007 around 2017/18. We don't know if Bond actively rejoins the service at any point in the film. We do know that Felix recruits him as he is 'the only person' he trusts for this particular mission.

    However, we don't know if he officially re-joins MI6. In fact, when he goes back to MI6, he's given a visitor's badge. So we have zero idea if Bond is an MI6 employee in this film, let alone a 00.

    In respect to Lashana, she looks to be doing a terrific job as the new 007. She seriously looks like she can handle herself in the action and has seemingly terrific chemistry with Craig.

    I don't want them to have a flirty dynamic. I want to see a mentor-protege dynamic. That's something truly unique for a Bond film.

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  • Posts: 4,603
    If Bond does not come back to MI6, then DC leaves the role in a very strange position and we do have a female 007 as the end titles role? can'tseeit myself
  • patb wrote: »
    If Bond does not come back to MI6, then DC leaves the role in a very strange position and we do have a female 007 as the end titles role? can'tseeit myself

    I think that Bond is going to die saving Madeleine. Eventually he'll die in her arms - which explains Barbara Broccoli's comment that this is an 'epic love story'. He won't get his number back at any point in NTTD. See here:



    The next film reboots. We have a 'new Bond' and we may get an origin story (again) where we see a new guy as 007.

    Despite Nomi being 007 - and remaining 007 throughout NTTD - make no mistake, Nomi will only be 007 in NTTD. This is a one-film thing.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    Without forgetting that Nomi could die as well in the film, leaving the 007 codename vacant again. But I don't think they will go for a definitive death à la Logan, so to speak. Something more in line with The Dark Knight Rises or YOLT seems more plausible.
  • edited December 2019 Posts: 6,709
    Or...everybody dies. No one's left to do eulogies or funerals. There are no obituaries. There's no more 007s. No one. Not two. None.

    :-D

    And then there'll be a new one in 2024, as if none of that ever happened.

    Sorry, I'm just tired of this 007 business, if you know what I mean. I do hope this isn't TDKR of the Craig era, nor his YOLT for that matter, let alone his DAD. But, all I can say so far is that the trailer looks good and Daniel Craig looks happy. And that's saying a lot.
  • matt_u wrote: »
    Without forgetting that Nomi could die as well in the film, leaving the 007 codename vacant again. But I don't think they will go for a definitive death à la Logan, so to speak. Something more in line with The Dark Knight Rises or YOLT seems more plausible.

    I feel this is the only feasible route.

    I can’t see them ending the Craig era with Bond returning to MI6 after he’s been retired. They’d essentially be repeating the exact same character journey he had in SF.

    He either gets married and retires (which is not dissimilar to the arc in SP) or he dies (which would be unique to the series).

    Plus, Eon do follow trends – and the trend currently is to kill iconic characters. We have already seen Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Wolverine, and Iron Man die. Also Jason Bourne, Batman and Captain America got to ‘die’ in some respects on film.

    I reckon Daniel Craig wants his entire arc to end in a definitive way.

    Perhaps the final scene is Nomi getting the DB5? A present in Bond’s will. Which is very The Dark Knight Rises

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  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    Superman as well. Ben Solo will be the next, I suppose.

    BTW, ending an arc in a definitive way doesn't mean kill off the character like Wolverine in Logan or IM in Endgame, dying in the arms of someone he loved in quite an emotional way. For a character like Bond that would be silly. Wrapping up this era with a more ambiguous approach seems more reasonable for Bond, like Greengrass did with Bourne in The Bourne Ultimatum. Like Blofeld said, a man lives inside his head, that's why a finale like YOLT would be a perfect solution to kill off Craig's Bond with a classier touch than the average blockbuster.
  • Posts: 4,603
    All interesting ideas. IMHO, It's clear that they are determined not to have Nomi as a token character and she will contribute to the story. In terms if the wider picture of showing female charactes making genuine (rather than token) contributions, Nomi sacrificing herself for the sake of the mission (and her country - "For England, James") would be hugely symbolic in terms of one of the discussed themes plus also provide the opportunity for genuine, character based drama.


  • Daniel recounted to us how his Bond film director, Cary Fukunaga, told him about his plan to cast Ana in “No Time to Die.” Daniel immediately endorsed the idea, since Ana impressed her in their many scenes together in “Knives Out.”

    Ana grinned about landing a part in the next 007 film. “It was actually very flattering because the character (Paloma) was not in the script,” she said. “Cary called me to say that there’s a part in the movie that takes place in Cuba. He was thinking about writing a part for me. I was blown away.

    “But I also said, ‘OK, I want to read the script. You’re Cary Fukunaga and it’s James Bond, but I still want to know what I have to do.’”

    Ana shared her experience working in “No Time to Die,” supposedly Daniel’s last outing as Bond. “It was fun. You can tell this is Daniel’s fifth (Bond) film. They’re a family. And it was a good group to be a part of, especially in this time that Bond’s women characters are changing and bringing in more interesting things to the franchise. So happy I’m a part of that.”

    Ana revealed that she was with Daniel in the very last scene shot for “No Time to Die.” “It was very sad,” she recounted. “I was there, and I’m proud to have been there with him in the last shot of the movie. It was a very emotional moment for all of us. It was beautiful to see how something in his life for 12 years comes to the end.

    “I love Daniel. He’s relentless. It doesn’t matter how exhausted he is, how many broken bones he has in his body. He still shows up and goes to work every day. It’s just so inspiring. He’s a great mentor to me.

    “‘Knives Out’ and ‘No Time to Die’ are two different projects. Being in a James Bond movie alone is scary and nerve-wracking. So, having met Daniel before (at ‘Knives Out’), it was no pressure.”


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  • Anyone seen how stunning this video of Lashana is......



    I hope she has a glam moment in the film - and it's not all action.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    edited December 2019 Posts: 4,343
    I hope she has a glam moment in the film - and it's not all action.

    Already seen even in the trailer. Jamaica club. She's super cool there. In Jamaica she will drive some kind of Vespa scooter as well.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    That video was exactly 0:07 long, lol!!

    Cheeky!
  • 007Blofeld007Blofeld In the freedom of the West.
    edited December 2019 Posts: 3,126
    I think nomi will be a traitor i don't know how but i have a gut feeling i don't see them killing bond off especially after the boyle dilema with the creative differences i think daniel wants to go out on a high not be killed off just to end things whats the point about his whole arc if he just dies. remember in casino m tells bond trust no one seems to be a big theme right from the start ironically. i think madeline gets flat out dumped because she is bad and forced by spectre to work for them and he just returns.
  • 007Blofeld wrote: »
    I think nomi will be a traitor i don't know how but i have a gut feeling i don't see them killing bond off especially after the boyle dilema with the creative differences i think daniel wants to go out on a high not be killed off just to end things whats the point about his whole arc if he just dies. remember in casino m tells bond trust no one seems to be a big theme right from the start ironically. i think madeline gets flat out dumped because she is bad and forced by spectre to work for them and he just returns.

    This article raises a good point about Bond’s arc throughout Craig’s era:
    https://screenrant.com/no-time-die-james-bond-daniel-craig-story-ending-how/

    Since it's likely too late for Craig's Bond to find a third major love interest, No Time To Die's choice will likely be between Bond overcoming his fears and placing his trust in Madeleine, or finding out everything about Swann was a lie and resigning himself to the fact the Vesper was his true one-and-only. There is, of course, a third option that would mean Bond doesn't need to get over anything...

    Isn't the death of James Bond exactly what Daniel Craig's long-term story arc has been building towards? The modern Bond movies broke new ground for the franchise in the sense that every installment was interconnected, and with this new approach comes an expectation for a grand finale for the character. It's no longer enough for Bond just to live to fight another day, and end with him in the arms of some nameless beauty, ready for the next adventure to begin in a few years. Daniel Craig's Bond has already retired on several occasions, only to be dragged back into the fray and No Time To Die begins with the spy officially done with MI6. Would it be a satisfying enough conclusion to a five-film arc if Bond was to simply give retirement another crack at the end of Craig's final film?

    After repeatedly finding himself back in the midst of the action, a central message of Craig's Bond films has surely been that the character can't give up his day job. Bond is so intrinsically wrapped up in serving Queen and country that there is no "quiet life" waiting for him at the end. Usually, there's only one outcome for characters too old to fight and too stubborn to retire, and that's an epic death doing the thing they love. This theory has been compounded by reports that Lashana Lynch is portraying Bond's 007 replacement in No Time To Die, setting up a potential on-screen successor to Craig's lead character.


    Reading this article it just feels apparent to me that Bond will “die” in the film. I’m not talking about the franchise moving forward here, I’m merely talking about NTTD. It just seems that this specific story ends with Bond dying and Nomi taking on the mantle. Bond 26 can be a reboot or a retcon (that’s an argument for another day). But NTTD ends the Craig era.

    You can always do something else with the Nomi character if they really must. Such as a spin-off on streaming. But so much is dependent on the fans and audience response to her. So I wouldn't bank on Lashana Lynch getting her own series at such an early stage. The concept is far from an apple in its father's eye at this point. But it could certainly be an option for Eon.
  • Posts: 6,709
    Regardless of what happens to Bond in NTTD's finale, there will be no Nomi spinoff. There will be no spinoff of any kind. Craig's era will be done. They'll spend the next two years on holidays, and then they'll start to think of some way to refresh Bond all over again, probably with new players all around.

    If I were a betting man, I'd put all in on that.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,205
    Univex wrote: »
    Regardless of what happens to Bond in NTTD's finale, there will be no Nomi spinoff. There will be no spinoff of any kind. Craig's era will be done. They'll spend the next two years on holidays, and then they'll start to think of some way to refresh Bond all over again, probably with new players all around.

    If I were a betting man, I'd put all in on that.

    Exactly. If they do kill Bond and reboot the continuity, they won't continue on with the "adventures of Nomi" from the current era. It'd be tone deaf and creatively moot to introduce a new Bond while pushing his previous replacement. Thank God Eon, for any flaws they may have, would realise this.
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