Don’t expect to see Jenna Ortega in Her Majesty’s Secret Service any time soon.
The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress says that she wants to see women get their own purpose-built action roles, rather than taking over parts previously meant for men. Case in point: James Bond.
“I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays,” Ortega told MTV. “I think that’s so special, but we should have our own,” she said. “I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see like ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another badass.”
Gregory Ratoff, who originally purchased and developed the rights to Bond in 1955, once considered a woman for the role, according to a new biography of Fleming. Ratoff flirted with the idea of casting soon to be Oscar-winner Susan Hayward as Bond. That is, until he met Sean Connery.
The franchise took a step toward an actual female Bond with Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, who takes over as 007 — but not as Bond — in 2021’s No Time To Die. According to current 007 boss Barbara Broccoli, that’s as close as we’ll ever get.
Broccoli has said specifically that, while she’s open to Bond being played by actors of different backgrounds, she doesn’t see a woman ever playing the role that was written by Ian Fleming as a man.
