The most recent film in the James Bond franchise, No Time to Die, featured a franchise first with the reveal that Q, Bond’s longtime tech expert, is gay. Or, rather, the hint. The film offered a scene in which Bond (Daniel Craig) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) arrive at Q’s home as the man is getting ready for a date. Q, played by Ben Whishaw, tells them this and notes that his date is a man. It’s a very brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment and while it’s certainly a groundbreaking moment for the franchise, it’s one that many fans have felt wasn’t quite enough and even Whishaw admits it felt “unsatisfying”.
In an interview with The Guardian, Whishaw, who is openly gay himself, explained that he felt the moment had been underplayed, even though he does feel it came from a good place generally.
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“I suppose I don’t feel it was forced upon the studio. That was not my impression of how this came about,” Whishaw said. “I think it came from a good place. And I think I remember feeling something like what you’ve just described. I think I thought, “Are we doing this, and then doing nothing with it?’ I remember, perhaps, feeling that was unsatisfying.”
“For whatever reason, I didn’t pick it apart with anybody on the film. Maybe on another kind of project I would have done? But it’s a very big machine,” continued Whishaw. “I thought a lot about whether I should question it. Finally, I didn’t. I accepted this was what was written. And I said the lines. And it is what it is.”
While No Time to Die‘s introduction of an LGBTQ+ character may have been unsatisfying, the franchise will have a chance to potentially do better in the future. While Craig’s time as Bond is over, the franchise continues and while a new Bond has yet to be named, a number of actors are in consideration including the possibility of a Black Bond with actors such as Idris Elba and Rege-Jean Page in consideration for the role.
What did you think about No Time to Die‘s introduction of an LGBTQ+ character? Do you share Whishaw’s sentiments? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
