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After years of incessant rumours, the news has finally dropped… We now know the identity of the actor playing the next James Bond. <\/p>\n
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The likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson<\/a>, Tom Holland<\/a>, Harris Dickinson,<\/a> Scott Rose-Marsh<\/a> and Callum Turner<\/a> were rumoured to be in contention for the next superspy, and recent reports suggested that 28-year-old Australian actor Jacob Elordi<\/a> was the current favourite to play 007. <\/p>\n Now, Euronews Culture can officially end all speculation by revealing that the identity of the new James Bond is… Irish actress and singer Jessie Buckley.<\/p>\n You read correctly: James Bond will be played by a woman for the first time, in the wake of Lashana Lynch briefly taking over the 007 mantle in Daniel Craig\u2019s Bond swansong, 2021\u2019s No Time To Die. <\/p>\n Buckley rose to fame following her role as Rose-Lynn Harlan in Tom Harper\u2019s Wild Rose (2018). The 36-year-old followed that critically acclaimed turn with I\u2019m Thinking of Ending Things, The Lost Daughter, Men and The Bride!<\/a>, before taking home the Oscar for Best Actress this year<\/a> for her performance in Chlo\u00e9 Zhao\u2019s Hamnet<\/a>. <\/p>\n She therefore becomes the first Oscar-winning performer to be cast as Bond.<\/p>\n More casting news was also revealed, with Tom Hiddleston playing the franchise\u2019s first Bond boy – named Fitty McCrotch \u2013 and the new M is set to be portrayed by none other than Gillian Anderson. Both frankly inspired choices. <\/p>\n An Amazon spokesperson told Euronews Culture: \u201cWe\u2019re distancing ourselves from the previous stance held by franchise head Barbara Broccoli, who said that Bond should only be played by a man. We\u2019re thrilled to have Jessie Buckley on board. Additionally, her initials are also \u2018JB\u2019, so that\u2019s delightful. Plus, her singing background makes her the ideal candidate for the project, as we\u2019ve been thinking of adding some musical numbers into the mix.\u201d <\/p>\n Regarding what genre of music could make it into this bold new direction for Bond 26, our source revealed: \u201cPrincipally folk \u2013 the genre Buckley absolutely aced in ‘Wild Rose’, which we recommend as essential viewing before buying a ticket to see the new James Bond film.\u201d <\/p>\n When asked what was behind the gender-flip, the spokesperson replied: \u201cIt\u2019s about time that we shook things up, because most audiences would rather drink wasps (shaken and stirred) than see another cookie cutter version of Bond.\u201d <\/p>\n They continued: \u201cDaniel Craig was an inspired casting choice, and he showed how the character could be updated and enriched over his tenure in the role. Very early on in the casting process for Bond 26, we realised that trying to follow in his footsteps was a fool\u2019s errand. So, we\u2019ve decided to opt for a radical new interpretation, one which will doubtlessly spark discussion.”<\/p>\n “And by discussion, we mean rile up countless misogynists whose fragile egos and warped sense of masculinity will be assaulted by this news of a fictional spy being played by a woman,\u201d they clarified. <\/p>\n Asking what plans are in place to not drive away potential audience members who may look at this casting decision and change of tone with apprehension, Euronews Culture was told: \u201cWe won\u2019t let the original fans down. They\u2019ll enjoy this new evolution of the espionage world created by Ian Fleming.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cAs for the naysayers, whose ‘hot takes’ on our decision will be tangled in kneejerk sexism and sanity-corroding yet predictable accusations of \u2018woke\u2019, we\u2019re banking on the fact they\u2019ll be too busy \u2018looksmaxxing\u2019 in order to \u2018boost their sexual market value\u2019 to muster the intellectual fortitude to mentally register this announcement.\u201d <\/p>\n The spokesperson concluded by adding: \u201cDown with the manosphere, long live Buckley, and all rise for the absolute screen treasure that is Gillian Anderson… ANDERSON IN THE HOUUUUUSE!\u201d <\/p>\n Well, quite. <\/p>\n Bond 26 will be directed by Denis Villeneuve<\/a> and is being written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight<\/a>. It will be the first Bond movie since Amazon gained full creative control of the franchise<\/a>, with long-serving producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson stepping down. <\/p>\n The as-yet-untitled Bond 26 will begin shooting next year, and will be released in 2028. And for those of you who are currently seething, check this article’s publication date and consider seeking some professional help, as the Bond franchise should be so lucky as to have a casting roster this impressive. Happy April Fools. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After years of incessant rumours, the news has finally dropped… We now know the identity of the actor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[189282,430,9719,156,593,24973,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-358505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-april-fools-day","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-cinema","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-film","13":"tag-james-bond","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}