Is The World Ready For a Female Bond?

By starrymag | June 8, 2016

By: Kathryn Trammell

 

It isn’t unreasonable to think that at some point James Bond might want to settle down. That he might one day truly get “too old for this” and decide to stop chasing girls and just commit to one of them. That instead of dodging bullets he might try to dodge the responsibilities of taking his kids to soccer practice or mowing the lawn. When that time comes, if and when Bond decides that his martinis would be better enjoyed in the company of his own home rather than the company of smoky casino, there should be no reason why a woman couldn’t fill his black leather shoes as the new 007 agent at MI6.

 

While James Bond is a man and will always be a man, the title of 007, like the titles of both “M” and “Q”, is genderless. This means that it is reasonable to expect that at some point James might want to let someone else take over if he doesn’t first reach the age of retirement, or, let’s be realistic, dies on a mission. It happens.

 

Maybe it’s the fear that by letting such a globally iconic character retire they might also assassinate the 007 brand that keeps Hollywood from taking the risk. It’s a legitimate fear, but other brands have thrived on doing the very thing the 007 brand has refused to do since Ian Fleming first created the character in 1953.

 

The mythology of many other beloved film, comic and book characters, like Bond, have titles and a certain permanence within that title that allow them to undergo multiple incarnations during their entertaining existence – the man or woman behind the title may cease to exist, but the title does not, which leaves the door open for a new person to assume that identity. More importantly, it allows a brand to become fresh again.

 

The Doctor (Doctor Who) has undergone twelve incarnations and has received multiple Companions since the series began back in 1963. Comics are riddled with superheroes and villains whose masks stay the same but the people behind them do not. Characters like Thor, Captain America, the Green Lantern and Robin – these titles have all been portrayed by numerous fictional characters, many of whom were portrayed at some point by women. If in the world of a comic book the man or woman behind the mask could realistically die or decide to step away from his/her title allowing someone else the chance to assume that role, then why can’t the modern day world of a British Secret Service agent be subject to the same realistic possibility?

 

The spark for this possibility didn’t truly ignite until Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) embraced the rumor that she might be the next Bond by first posting a fan-made 007 movie poster on her Twitter feed with the words “It’s Bond. Jane Bond.” She again played into the rumor in a Tumblr Q&A session in which she stated that the best rumor she’d ever heard about herself was that she “might be the next Bond.” Her fans collectively lost their minds and the hashtag #NextBond was born on Twitter with other female celebs throwing their hats into the proverbial ring.

 

One of the best reactions to the #NextBond hype was one that also highlighted the sexist underbelly of the debate and that reaction came from Priyanka Chopra. In an interview with Complex Magazine, the assumption was made that given Chopra’s ability and desire to do the physical choreography and stunt work of the tough female characters she prefers to portray that she would be a shoe-in as the next Bond Girl. Her response to this notion was priceless: “I get that all the time. But f—k that. I want to be the next Bond.” She didn’t just toss her hat into the ring – she threw down the gauntlet.

 

What people fail to recognize is that an actress who has the ability to do what Chopra does when she plays roles like Alex Parrish on Quantico also has the exact same skillset as any man who could portray 007. The reason why it hasn’t been done before, or why it might never be done, is because Hollywood and its consumers are so focused on making the title of 007 synonymous with the archetype that is Bond: the manliest man to ever man.

 

They worry that by making Bond a woman, he might lose some of his trademark chauvinism. That she won’t be strong enough to evade injury or capture and would therefore need to be rescued given her newly prescribed weakness, because this is what happens to women in action movies.

 

And what would happen to the Bond Girl? Well, they could keep her and hope that audiences wouldn’t be turned off by the prospect of a woman like Gillian Anderson falling for a woman like Michelle Yeoh (who out-Bonded Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies, truth be told) or they could replace them with Bond Boys, but something tells me that audiences would be less willing to see men objectified in the way Bond Girls get objected than they would by seeing a woman who beats the bad guy and still gets the girl.

 

Or, they could respectfully move away from the iconic Bond archetype and make 007 an entirely new incarnation that allows for the same level of intrigue, action, suspense and techy-gadget-car madness by giving the franchise a character that people would be happy to root for – especially because she’s a woman.

 

There’s a reason why the Hunger Games is a successful franchise. Why, after ten years of waiting, Star Wars debuted its newest film with a female lead that lead The Force Awakens to being the 3^rd highest grossing film of all time. It’s because audiences were ready. They were ready to see stories about girls whose heroism was motivated by their own will to survive and who didn’t need to be rescued from the weaknesses they owned and the struggles they overcame.

 

Who’s to say a British Secret Service agent can’t do the same, especially if she’s a woman? Who’s to say that Hollywood and its global audience isn’t ready to see a woman fill the role of 007? Not me. And I know I’m not the only one who wouldn’t object to the idea that either Alex Parrish or Dana Scully would make excellent additions to the MI6 team. The world just needs to give the characters and the actresses who portray them the chance to prove it.