“There’s More Space For Female-Led Movies In The Genre”

As she tries out the spy genre with her Netflix thriller Heart of Stone, Gal Gadot has addressed the fan casting for her to be the first female James Bond. The future of the Ian Fleming-based franchise remains in the air following No Time to Die, which ended Daniel Craig’s tenure as the iconic MI6 agent in a literal explosive fashion as he sacrificed himself to stop Rami Malek’s Safin and his nanobot virus. A variety of names have been discussed as the next Bond, ranging from The Witcher‘s Henry Cavill to The King’s Man‘s Harris Dickinson.

In honor of Heart of Stone‘s release, and prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Gal Gadot sat down with GQ for their latest video of celebrities responding to fan questions on social media. When looking at the comments on the YouTube post of the Netflix thriller’s trailer, the star-producer responded to a fan casting her as a female James Bond, expressing her gratitude for the consideration and love of the genre, but indicating a desire to help create more original female-led stories. See what Gadot explained below:

That’s very nice of you to say, thank you. I’m such a big fan of this genre, I grew up watching Bond, and Mission, and Die Hard, and Bourne Identity. The little girl in me always wanted to play one, and I think after the success of Wonder Woman is when I realized, “Wait a second, there’s an audience for this, where it’s female led.” There’s more space for female-led movies in the genre, and that’s kind of what gave Yaron and I, whose my husband and my partner, the boost to go ahead and develop one ourselves. The action, the twists and turns, the scope, the drama, I love everything about these movies, and I’m so happy that we can share Heart of Stone with you.

Can Heart of Stone Launch Gadot’s Own Spy Franchise?

The interest in a female-led Bond movie was sparked by No Time to Die after the movie introduced two powerful female characters with Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, who even took on the 007 mantle in Bond’s absence, and Ana de Armas’ Paloma. Despite audiences being open to the idea, many of those with experience in the franchise have taken an opposite stance, particularly producer Barbara Broccoli, who instead wants to see more powerful woman characters in the franchise.

Though Gadot may not get a chance to take on the 007 mantle for the franchise’s future, she may get her own chance to launch a female-led spy property with Netflix’s Heart of Stone. The actor/producer has already established a strong standing with the streamer after the viewership success of Red Notice, with plans to return for two subsequent sequels alongside Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson. Gadot even recently offered an update on said sequel, confirming talks are ongoing and that the script for the first of the two has been finished.

Much like Red Notice, Gadot’s Heart of Stone has endured a rough run with critics since its premiere on Netflix, though audiences have been more favorable in their feelings on the spy thriller. With no viewership numbers announced as of yet from the streamer, it’s unclear whether there’s a future for the property with Gadot, though her passion for both it and the genre in general could see her push for a follow-up to launch her own spy franchise in the vein of James Bond.

Source: GQ