Trina Parks, first black Bond girl, criticises Lashana Lynch's casting as 007 in Daniel Craig's film

Trina Parks made history as she became the first-ever black James Bond girl in the 1971 Sean Connery-starrer Diamonds are Forever.  However, she criticises the casting of black British actress Lashana Lynch as the new 007 in the forthcoming _Bond 25_ film, as per reports. Speaking to The Mirror, Parks says that while she can visualise a black man playing Bond but she cannot see a woman taking up the role. [caption id=“attachment_7038221” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Trina Parks (left) in Diamonds are Forever; Lashana Lynch. Images from Twitter[/caption] “Lashana is a great actress, but I don’t really agree with her becoming 007. It’s not about her colour — a black James Bond, sure. But as a man. It’s just because Bond, the spy code-named 007, was written by Ian Fleming as a man. Miss Bond doesn’t have the same ring to it,” she tells the publication. However, the actress lauded the franchise’s continuous attempt at inclusion and representation. She said that the franchise has “gone out of the box” to cast black actors and women of colour more than any other franchises. There have been various reports stating that Lynch is set to replace Daniel Craig and become the next 007. However, according to an earlier Daily Mail report, Lynch will not be the new Bond, but an agent who takes on the oo7 agent code after Craig’s Bond leaves MI6. Apart from Craig, there are several other actors who are returning to reprise their franchise roles. These include Ralph Fiennes as M, the head of MI6; Rory Kinnear as Tanner, a loyal associate of Bond’s; Ben Whishaw as Q, who presides over MI6’s research and development department; Naomie Harris as Moneypenny; Léa Seydoux as the psychologist Dr Madeleine Swann; and Jeffrey Wright as CIA agent Felix Leiter. Christoph Waltz is also set to return as antagonist Ernst Stavro Blofeld, a role he first played in 2015’s Spectre. Cary Joji Fukunaga is directing the next James Bond film, which also features Rami Malek as the main villain alongside new entrants Ana De Armas, David Dencik, Billy Magnussen, and Dali Benssalah. The currently untitled movie, which is Craig’s fifth and final outing as the suave British spy, was previously filming in Jamaica. The film is scheduled for release in the UK through Universal on 3 April, 2020, and in the US through United Artists Releasing on 8 April, 2020.