We've become accustomed to bad news about the next Bond movie, what with director and writer switches, issues with the script and, more recently, Daniel Craig injured while filming. But Fleabag creator and Killing Eve developer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was brought in to lend her particular, considerable talents to the Bond 25 screenplay, is striking a more pragmatically hopeful tone.
Talking with Deadline, she outlined how she approached the task and its patchy history with both female characters and meaning. "There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not the Bond franchise is relevant now because of who he is and the way he treats women," Waller-Bridge says. "I think that’s bollocks. I think he’s absolutely relevant now. It 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 this character."
Her focus has been those female characters, particularly those played by the likes of Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas and Spectre veteran Léa Seydoux. "I just want to make sure that when they get those pages through, that Lashana, Léa and Ana open them and go, 'I can’t wait to do that,'" she admits. "As an actress, I very rarely had that feeling early in my career. That brings me much pleasure, knowing that I’m giving that to an actress."
She's also appreciative of Craig's past work as 007, and tampers talk of her totally overhauling the script. "When I saw his Bond for the first time, there was a wryness to his performance that I really loved," she says. "So, I was really excited about writing dialogue for him. I mean, the script was there. It’s already there. I think it’s unfair to say that I’m writing the script."
For more from Waller-Bridge, head to Deadline. The still-untitled 25th official Bond movie remains on track for a 3 April release in the UK.
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