Black actress Lashana Lynch is taking over the iconic role…

There’s a new spy in town! British actress Lashana Lynch has just been announced as the new 007 in the Bond franchise. Although Daniel Craig will still have the titular role of James Bond, the codename of 007 has been reassigned to a new character, played by Lynch. This new plotline comes as Bond leaves MI6 and is “called back to action to fight a new villain”, as quoted from an anonymous “movie insider” who also says that “there is a pivotal scene at the start of the film where M says “come in 007”, and in walks Lashana who is black, beautiful and a woman.”

Daniel Craig with Naomie Harris, centre, and Lashana Lynch in Jamaica. Photograph: Gilbert Bellamy/Reuters

Originally from West London, Lynch made her film debut in 2011’s ‘Fast Girls’ though her breakthrough role came earlier this year in Captain Marvel as fighter pilot Maria Rambeau. Now, she will step into the role of Nomi, who is initially seduced by Bond but refuses his advances.

This isn’t the only display of girl power shaking up the 25th Bond movie. British writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (‘Fleabag’, ‘Killing Eve’) came on board to polish up the existing script, making her the second female writer in the history of the franchise. 

Waller-Bridge, who’s shows are known for digging deep into the female psyche, is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying, “There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not Bond is relevant now because of who he is and the way he treats women. I think that’s bollocks. I think he’s absolutely relevant now. “[The franchise] has just got to grow. It has just got to evolve, and the important thing is that the film treats the women properly. He doesn’t have to. He needs to be true to his character.”

Speaking to Deadline in May, she also mentioned how she was excited to make the female characters “feel like real people”, explaining that it “brings me much pleasure, knowing that I’m giving that to an actress.”

From hiring a female 007 to recruiting a female screenwriter, both of these moves have been widely praised as they steer the famed franchise into a new era, allowing it to remain current and become more inclusive.