Lashana Lynch will be in the next Bond film. That much we know. What we’re not sure of exactly is how much she will be in the new movie. 

That’s what has got people talking. In case you’ve been living under a rock (or just not been on Twitter, which is the 2019 equivalent) then you may have missed the rumours that have been circulating regarding Lynch’s character. 

Let’s just catch up quickly…

Bond25 is set for release in April 2020 and we’ve been told that it would be Daniel Craig’s last time in the role (although we’ve heard that before, but that’s a conversation for another time). The franchise has historically not been the most-forward thinking (see: white male lead seducing women who are often left for dead) so we were all hoping that the person appointed as the MI6 agent in the future films would be more diverse. Rumours of Idris Elba and Gillian Anderson have all been circulated, and the appointment of Phoebe Waller-Bridge to the Bond25 writing room got us excited for the start of more inclusive movies going forward.

But nothing had prepared us for the latest hearsay, as it turns out we won’t have to wait years for an exciting casting: allegedly Lashana Lynch is going to be playing 007 in Bond25. 

Lynch is not thought to be taking over the role of James Bond, just of the agent 007. Reports suggest that the film will follow the story of Bond’s retirement, leaving the character of Nomi, played by Lynch, to be hired as the new agent. It’s a perfectly logical story, but of course the trolls had something to say. So instead of giving their racist and mysoginistic abuse the air time, we’ve sifted through to find the most positive tweets about the rumoured news. 

We’ll start with one Twitter user’s excellent point that jobs don’t cease to exist just because someone leaves the role:

Another user raised a similar point about Bond’s retirement saying: “007… can live on past him. Please stop exposing yourself as both a fake fan and a racist.”

We’d also like to point out that this is a fictional movie based on fictional books about a fictional character. To that point, the writers can do whatever the hell they want. But if they do need to justify their actions, the fact the franchise has stayed on script for 25 movies is probably it. Journalist Jill Gutowitz perfectly summed up how the film just couldn’t work without a powerful female in 2019, saying: “you thought 007 would be a man? in this economy?? in the age of megan rapinoe??? [sic]” to which other users replied “in phoebe waller-bridge script? [sic]” and “We’re living in a post-USWNT-win world”.

One thing is for sure – mixing things up may annoy some of the more conservative fans, but it’s going to open the door for more people to get excited about the movies. “It’s going to be the first time I see a 007 film,” one Twitter user said at the rumours of Lynch’s casting. 

Of course, this isn’t the first diverse casting in recent history. The news that Halle Bailey has been cast as Ariel in the Little Mermaid got trolls’ head in a spin, despite the fact that this is also a fictional character who lives under the sea.