Award-winning Testament author Kim Sherwood is set to be the first woman to take the James Bond universe forward with novels.
On BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Sherwood revealed that she would be expanding the legendary 007 universe with a “feministic perspective” and giving it a modern touch. She added her view on why James Bond, first introduced by Ian Fleming in 1953, remains evergreen: “Because he can change with us.”
After 14 novels penned by creator Fleming, the James Bond franchise has 40 licensed books, with the author’s mantle passed between six authors. The latest author is Sherwood, the 2016 Bath Novel Award and Harper’s Bazaar Big Book Award winner.
The last James Bond movie, No Time To Die, saw the skilled spy being killed off. While the credits did hint at his return, the future still looks meek. Bond might disappear, but there are multiple other capable female characters to shift the limelight on.
Sherwood shared that the new books will not focus on Bond but rather a new group of agents.
We’ve always followed 007 before, but there are many other spies who you occasionally hear of in the background of Ian Fleming’s novels. And that gives me this incredible range to be able to have a whole group of heroes on missions around the world… that’s been really exciting for me as a writer.
Kim Sherwood
This new group includes some old familiar faces such as Ms. Moneypenny and the MI6 boss, M. As the Bond universe has majorly been male-oriented, be it novels or movies, Sherwood wants to “bring a feminist perspective to the canon, as a young woman writer.”
She also wants to honor the women who have helped make Bond’s universe exciting, bringing all his ambitions to fruitful conclusions.
Sherwood being the first woman to have the honor to expand, change and move James Bond’s legacy forward is an incredible feat in itself. On top of that, her desire to bring forth the female characters is commendable.
The first installment in the trilogy of Sherwood’s James Bond is expected to release in September 2022.
About James Bond Franchise
James Bond films are the longest continually running film series of all time and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film series to date, which started in 1962 with Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2021, there have been twenty-five films in the Eon Productions series. The most recent Bond film, No Time to Die (2021), stars Daniel Craig in his fifth portrayal of Bond; he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series.
Source: BBC
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