Bond 25 ‘will see actress Lashana Lynch take over from Daniel Craig to become first female 007’

ACTRESS Lashana Lynch will take on the iconic spy role of 007 in Bond 25, according to reports.

While titular hero James Bond will still be portrayed by Daniel Craig, 51, writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge has introduced a major twist to the long-running franchise.

She will introduce the Captain Marvel star, 31, as the current 007's replacement within the secret service, while a decision has yet to be made who will take over from Craig in Bond 26.

An insider told the Mail: "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.

"It’s a popcorn-dropping moment. Bond is still Bond but he’s been replaced as 007 by this stunning woman."

The source also revealed that Bond will be brought out of retirement in Jamaica to thwart a "global crisis".

It comes after it was revealed Cristoph Waltz will reprise the role of Blofeld in the flick after he was spotted on set at Pinewood Studios.

The star, 62, played the head of a shadowy organisation of villains in 2015's Spectre, and is back for a second outing despite previously claiming he wouldn't be in the next flick.

The Mail's Baz Bamigboye broke the news on Twitter, posting: "Exclusive:Hello Mr Waltz... we’ve been expecting you.#ChristophWaltz is back as #Blofeld in ⁦@007⁩ #Bond25 , shooting scenes at Pinewood studios . When a visitor spotted him , Waltz insisted , “You haven’t seen me.”

Super-villain Blofeld tried to establish a global surveillance network in Spectre that would enable the organisation to monitor and evade criminal investigations at the highest level.

In an explosive finale, Blofeld's helicopter was shot down and the villain was seen crawling from the wreckage.

Earlier this month Bond bosses insisted the next 007 film will be in cinemas in just nine months' time despite being rocked by a string of disasters.

A spokesperson for the spy franchise told The Sun Online that the 25th Bond movie would definitely be released in the UK on 3 April next year.

The troubled film has been hit with several calamities - including three explosions, a crocked Daniel Craig and Grace Jones walking out.

A triple explosion erupted at the 007 Stage at the movie franchise's Pinewood Studios base in London last month.

A crew member sustained an injury during the blast, which took off part of the roof and several wall panels.

The disaster came after Bond star Daniel was injured while shooting scenes in Jamaica, forcing filming to be delayed.

He has now had an ankle ligament operation and was pictured with his leg in a supportive medical boot following surgery.

The Sun revealed how the troubled film suffered another blow when Grace quit her much-hyped role moments after arriving on set.

Grace, who played villain May Day in 1985’s A View To A Kill, walked away after discovering how few lines she’d been given.

The film was also thrown off course by the departure of original director Danny Boyle, who quit over a script dispute, in August 2018.

It’s getting ridiculous. Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes fighting Nazis.

Bond was born in 1920 or 1921. Bond joined a branch of what was to become the Ministry of Defence in 1941 and becomes a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, ending the war as a commander. Enough. I prefer the masculine Bond in his times, not what he’s morphing into now.

I love this description of James Bond in the novel FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. It’s from a dossier compiled by SMERSH. SMERSH is a portmanteau of two Russian words: “SMERt’ SHpionam” meaning “Death to Spies”.

From the dossier:

“Name: Bond, James. Height: 183cm, weight: 76 kilograms; slim build; eyes: blue; hair: black; scar down right cheek and on left shoulder; signs of plastic surgery on back of right hand (see Appendix “A”); all-round athlete; expert pistol shot, boxer, knife-thrower; does not use disguises. Languages: French and German. Smokes heavily (NB: special cigarettes with three gold bands); vices: drink, but not to excess, and women. Not thought to accept bribes.

This man is invariably armed with a .25 Beretta automatic carried in a holster under his left arm. Magazine holds eight rounds. Has been known to carry a knife strapped to his left forearm; has used steel-capped shoes; knows the basic holds of judo. In general, fights with tenacity and has a high tolerance of pain (see Appendix “B”).

Conclusion. This man is a dangerous professional terrorist and spy. He has worked for the British Secret Service since 1938 and now (see Highsmith file of December 1950) holds the secret number “007” in that Service. The double 0 numerals signify an agent who has killed and who is privileged to kill on active service. There are believed to be only two other British agents with this authority. The fact that this spy was decorated with the CMG in 1953, an award usually given only on retirement from the Secret Service, is a measure of his worth. If encountered in the field, the fact and full details to be reported to headquarters (see SMERSH MGB and GRU Standing Orders 1951 onwards).”

The narrative continues:

“General G.’s hand went to the internal office telephone. He spoke to his ADC. ‘Death Warrant,’ he said harshly. ‘Made out in the name of “James Bond”.’ He spelled the names out. ‘Description: Angliski Spion. Crime: Enemy of the State.’ He put the receiver back and leant forward in his chair. ‘And now it will be a question of devising an appropriate konspiratsia. And one that cannot fail!’”

“To be killed WITH IGNOMINY. Grubozaboyschikov.”

Anthony Burgess Burgess suggested that from the very beginning Fleming (Casino Royal, 1953) had a message for the British people: “Tough, brave, and yet no cold-bath ascetic, Bond reminded his readers of qualities they seemed to have lost.”

Bond reminds me of the character Sam Vincent created by Stephen Hunter in his novel BLACK LIGHT: “His was a life of certitude. He was an absolute believer. He hated revisionism, hindsight, detached examination, the whole spirit of equivocation and ironic ambivalence which had become the American style in the nineties.” Just so. Like Vincent, Bond was an antidote to the fecklessness and timidity of the modern beta male.

To me Connery will always be the definitive Bond with Craig a close second. Fleming and Connery agreed the film FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE was the best. To be fair this assessment was early on as Fleming died in 1964. I do not think he would have cared for the later movies, though he would have enjoyed the money immensely.

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