Thunderball (1965), Starring Sean Connery as James Bond and Claudine Auger as Domino Vitali
(Picture: Handout)Sean Connery’s character 007 was basically a rapist, new Bond director Cary Fukunaga has said.
The No Time To Die director had no qualms admitting the secret agent’s behaviour towards women “wouldn’t fly today” in a post-MeToo era.
In a new interview, the mastermind behind the latest 007 admitted he “can’t change Bond overnight into a different person” but he could “definitely change the world around him”.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “Is it Thunderball or Goldfinger where, like, basically Sean Connery’s character rapes a woman? She’s like ‘No, no, no,’ and he’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ That wouldn’t fly today.”
Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge was drafted in to work on the No Time To Die script the director had penned with 007 screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.
Mr Purvis and Mr Wade go way back, having been behind every single 007 movie since 1999’s The World Is Not Enough.
Also, director Mr Fukunaga said they put an emphasis on working on th female characters to make them more than “just contrivances”.
He added: “I think that’s the expectation, a female writing very strong female roles, but that’s something Barbara wanted already. From my very first conversations with [Broccoli], that was a very strong drive. You can’t change Bond overnight into a different person.
“But you can definitely change the world around him and the way he has to function in that world. It’s a story about a white man as a spy in this world, but you have to be willing to lean in and do the work to make the female characters more than just contrivances.”
In 2018, Mr Fukunaga was named as director of the 25th James Bond film.
Charles, Camilla, William and Kate will step out on to the red carpet to meet 007 star Daniel Craig and other cast members including Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux and Lashana Lynch at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Tuesday September 28.
