Admittedly, the James Bond franchise is not for everyone, and even fans can see why. For as successfully as the legendary spy fiction character has navigated the modern world of fiction, the pedigree of Ian Fleming’s mythic creation does have some less fantastic elements. The 2025 movie schedule has seen the franchise looking towards the future, and while some might want to fan cast Helen Mirren as James Bond 26’s M, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath – as she’s not a fan.
Talking with The Standard about her new series MobLand, Dame Mirren addressed the recent 007 developments at Amazon-MGM Studios, and in that conversation came the following admission:
I have to say I was never a great ward [of Bond]. I’m a huge fan of Pierce Brosnan, I mean massive fan. I mean, oh my god. Obviously, he’s gorgeous and everything, and I think he’s fabulous in MobLand, but he also happens to be one of the nicest people you’ll ever have the pleasure to work with. And indeed Daniel Craig, who I’ve met and know a little bit. Again, a very lovely gracious person.
Playing the head of a drug trading mob outfit, with Brosnan as her husband, the Paramount+ subscription driver freshly premiered over the weekend. So of course, with the fifth man to have played James Bond in the mix, these feelings seemed primed to be revealed at one point or another.
Her reasons for not being turned off by the 007 legacy are facets that some may see as integral to the series DNA. With the next era of the character on the horizon, some people wonder if James Bond should be a harsher character, much as his literary origins dictate. In her further remarks of displeasure with 007, The Queen star provided that context as follows:
The whole series of James Bond, it was not my thing. It really wasn’t. I never liked James Bond. I never liked the way women were in James Bond. The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism.
More to come…