Phoebe Waller-Bridge has warned that the upcoming James Bond film must “treat women properly”, even if the spy himself does not.
The Fleabag creator is working on the script for the as-yet-untitled 25th Bond film and said she was excited to work on dialogue for star Daniel Craig, although she played down her involvement.
She told Deadline: “There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not (the Bond franchise) is relevant now because of who he is and the way he treats women.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge: James Bond Is “Absolutely Relevant Now” But The Film “Has To Treat Women Properly” https://t.co/yCE2GmxnG9 pic.twitter.com/jZPIDPWe8j
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 31, 2019
“I think that’s bollocks. I think he’s absolutely relevant now. 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.”
Discussing Craig’s Bond, she said: “When I saw his Bond for the first time, there was a wryness to his performance that I really loved, so 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.”
However, said she wanted to make sure that the female characters, including those played by Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux and Ana de Armas, “felt like real people, ” adding: “I just want to make sure that when they get those pages through, that Lashana, Lea and Ana 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.”
Bond 25 will be directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and is due for release in 2020.