At the end of every James Bond film comes a familiar message: James Bond Will Return. It even popped up at the end of No Time To Die, which is significant to note for reasons clear to anyone who’s seen the film. But what currently isn’t know is whether that film’s 007 will return. Lashana Lynch starred alongside Daniel Craig as Nomi, who had assumed Bond’s vacated agent number after his retirement, and fought alongside him to take down the villainous Safin. She was a character with clear potential beyond No Time To Die, and very much still on the board at the end of that film – but with the role of James Bond ripe for a reboot, it’s currently unclear if more Nomi stories will be on the way.
Even Lynch still isn’t sure, as she tells Empire in a major new interview. “I signed up for one film and I don’t know if they entirely know where it’s gonna go,” she says. “I genuinely don’t know anything, but it’s exciting to wonder!”
Speaking in the run-up to the release of historical war epic The Woman King, Lynch reflected on what her last major blockbuster role meant to her. “I’m glad that my culture, Jamaica and London, were encapsulated into this one film,” she says of No Time To Die. “Jamaica hasn’t had a reprise in a Bond movie for a long time, so that was an honour, and then to have Phoebe [Waller-Bridge, co-writer] involved was perfect. I’m such a fan of her work.” The Fleabag and Killing Eve writer was key to finding Nomi’s voice on the screen – confident and capable, but flawed too. “She represents awkward Brit girls like me who have a lot to say, but sometimes don’t really know how to come across,” explains Lynch. “I wanted Nomi to have a little bit of that; still figuring it out. I didn’t want there to be this clean-cut version of the first 007 being a Black woman. I wanted to ensure that she was still trying to be quick on her feet, but also failing in ways and not showing it.”
Here’s hoping there’ll be more Nomi in the future – just because James Bond will return in some other guise, doesn’t mean she can’t come back too.
Read Empire’s full Lashana Lynch interview – with a brand new exclusive photo shoot by Zoë McConnell – in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever issue, on sale Thursday 29 September and available to order online here. The Woman King comes to UK cinemas from 4 October.