My little thread on Bond. I think it should be Rebecca Ferguson playing the character she plays in Mission Impossible: Ilsa Faust. They should get rid of "Bond", keep the "007" bit. The character is now an anachronism whose baggage doesn't allow anything genuinely interesting to

evolve. Having a character like Faust become 007, one who has some character back story, could have some interesting trans-media possibilities. After all, these are commercial blockbusters, a 007/MI cross-over would certainly be interesting for 'expanded universe' lovers.

On the question of gender. This wouldn't be a PC thing, the problem with the Bond films is Bond himself. They have to deal with the difficulties of a character forged and loved in the past, a past that cannot be recreated or idealised now for so many valid ideological reasons.

Rebecca Ferguson is one of the elements that made the recent MI films work. She embodies an athleticism, intelligence, sexuality & vulnerability that would certainly be interesting to explore if she were to become 007.

This would solve, or at least mitigate, the continuity problems if James Bond had to become someone who didn't fit the parental, gender, racial identity & history of the character. The problem with the 007 film world is James Bond himself.

If any purists @ me with how wrong I am, go right ahead. I'm not that invested beyond the fact the Bond films are a part of cinema, & I grew up with the films.

I just think something imaginative, even radical needs to happen for these films to be anything other formulaic, banal reinventions