Sorry James Bond fans, it looks like we’re going to be leaving the 2024 movie schedule without many updates in the arena of what we know about Bond 26. And as it turns out, the 007 cast is missing the presence of the longest running movie franchise just as much as we are. With Naomie Harris, Moneypenny herself, admitting to having those feelings in a recent interview, I can totally raise a martini in tribute to that notion myself.
As Ms. Harris was on hand to promote her upcoming film The Wasp, the Bond actor introduced as a part of 2012’s Skyfall stopped by SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show with Julia Cunningham to talk up that new thriller. Unfortunately, her comments pertaining to the future of the 007 franchise don’t give us any new information to go on. Though Naomie Harris did reveal a fun bit of MI6 family cast trivia, as seen below:
Three movies, over a decade. Yeah, so it’s a huge part of my life. … I do. I do. I really do. I don’t know what’s gonna happen for the next. I don’t know where they’re going, what direction. I have absolutely no idea and I’m so glad that I don’t have any idea otherwise I’d slip up, so nobody tells me anything.
In hindsight, I never really gave the prospect of who the biggest spoiler fiend could be in the world of Daniel Craig’s James Bond. And that’s even considering No Time To Die’s infamous call sheet leak that revealed the existence of Mathilde (Lisa-Dorah Sonnet), the young daughter shared by Commander Bond and Léa Seydoux’s Dr. Madeleine Swann. But by her own admission, Naomie Harris is the most likely mole in the recent cast of James Bond movies.
While she doesn’t know anything about Bond 26 with authority, the 28 Days Later star does seem to feel very strongly about her potential 00-future. Though Naomie Harris has her own Moneypenny hopes for whatever the next chapter brings, these continued remarks don’t sound too confident about a potential return:
I think they do think I’m the weak link ’cause I’m literally the last person to know any piece of information, which is terrible, but I will really miss it because, you know, as an actress or an actor and in this profession, you’re just kind of like a gypsy going around on your own constantly and for the first time, I had a sense of continuity going back to the same place to work with at Pinewood Studios, to work with the same team and it’s a beautiful feeling to have that, so yeah. I feel a bit lost without it to be honest.
I’m actually kind of sad now after reading that addendum to Naomie Harris’ feelings as the series occupies a bit of a holding pattern. We fans think we have it bad without having a new James Bond adventure to look forward to at the moment; but Ms. Harris has now highlighted why she and her co-stars have even worse versions of those feelings.
For the current MI6 family, which includes the likes of Rory Kinnear, Ben Whishaw, and Ralph Fiennes, this storied property has been their jobs. So to not have a clue as to whether or not they’ll be returning, despite their best wishes, is kind of an existential downer. With that in mind, I think it’s time to raise another glass to Naomie Harris and the rest of the people that make James Bond the exciting thrill ride it continues to be; both in thanks and in hope.
No Time To Die may have been Daniel Craig era’s final bow as 007, but you can still watch that film through using a Peacock subscription. And if you’re going to indulge in a martini of your own, might I recommend No. 3 Gin as a potential ingredient; a tip I learned after my recent trip to Dukes Bar in London. We all have to deal with the absence of James Bond in our own way, and I don’t have an appointment with a tailor just yet.