Phoebe Waller-Bridge Wants ‘Bond 25’ To Treat Women ‘Properly,’ But James Bond ‘Doesn’t Have To’

All the concerns surrounding Bond 25 — Daniel Craig’s initial hesitance to return as James Bond, Danny Boyle dropping out as director (he was replaced by Cary Joji Fukunaga), multiple script re-writes, etc. — have been off-set by one very good piece of news: Phoebe Waller-Bridge was brought on-board to “polish” the screenplay. “When I saw his Bond for the first time, there was a wryness to his performance that I really loved,” the Fleabag creator told Deadline. “I was really excited about writing dialogue for him. I mean, the script was there. It’s already there. I think it’s unfair to say that I’m writing the script.”

Waller-Bridge, who is only the second female to be receive a writing credit on a Bond script (and first since Johanna Hardwood for 1963’s From Russia With Love), also discussed whether 007 is, as she puts it, “relevant” in a #MeToo world. The spy hasn’t always had the, uh, greatest respect for women. But “that’s bollocks. I think he’s absolutely relevant now,” she said. “It has just got to grow. It has just got to evolve, and the important thing is that the film treats the women properly. He doesn’t have to. He needs to be true to this character.”

“I just want 
to make sure that when they get those pages through, that [Bond 25 stars Lashana Lynch, Léa Seydoux, and Ana de Armas] open them and go, ‘I can’t wait to do that.’ As an actress, I very rarely had that feeling early in my career. That brings me much pleasure, knowing that I’m giving that to an actress.” (Via)

Whenever those actresses or Craig look at the camera, you’ll know Waller-Bridge had a hand in that scene. Bond 25 comes out in April 2020.