Is Sydney Sweeney the Next Bond Girl? Inside the Rumors and What It Would Mean for the Franchise
Ever since Daniel Craig retired as James Bond, a number of actors have wanted to be in contention for the role, including Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney’s name has popped up frequently in relation to the Bond films; she is rumored to be the next Bond girl. The Euphoria actor wouldn’t confirm or deny the rumors, but she did note that she’d love to play James Bond. Here’s what it would mean if she’s in the films.
Jeff Bezos reportedly wanted Sydney Sweeney as the next Bond Girl
Director Denis Villeneuve will direct the upcoming installment in the James Bond films. While the casting of the new Bond has not yet been settled, Sweeney is rumored to be a Bond girl. Villeneuve reportedly wants Sweeney in the film.
“Sydney is the top name on the casting sheet for Bond,” a source told The U.S. Sun over the summer. “Denis believes she is hugely talented, as well as having an alluring appeal to younger generations, vital in modernising the franchise. They’ve hung out together a lot, and he has admired her stratospheric rise. Plus, Sydney has the quality of being athletic and able to perform physical scenes, as well as being feminine and following in the legacy of Bond girls.”
Sweeney also attended Jeff Bezos’ wedding over the summer. Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios will produce the film, and he reportedly has some creative control.
Sydney Sweeney addressed rumors that she is the next Bond Girl
When asked directly about the Bond rumors, Sweeney paused before avoiding the question.
“I can’t. [Seven-second pause.] I don’t know. [Ten-second pause.],” she told Variety. “To be honest, I don’t know all the Bond rumors, but I’ve always been a huge fan of the franchise, and I’m excited and curious to see what they do with it.”
She noted that while she would be open to the role depending on the script, she thought the leading part would be more fun.
“Depends on the script,” she said. “I think I’d have more fun as James Bond.”
What would it mean if she were cast as the lead?
If Sweeney were to get her wish and portray James Bond in one of the films, she would, of course, be the first woman in the role. She would also be the first American to tackle the iconic character. Bond’s British identity has always been a major part of his character. If Sweeney plays the new Bond’s romantic interest, she would be the first American in this position since before Craig’s era.
While a wholly fresh take on the character seems unlikely, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Longtime Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams said there isn’t one specific set of traits she looks for in potential actors.
“There isn’t an absolute ideal mould,” she told Radio Times. “There never would be and never should be, because otherwise, it just becomes boring. It’s the best person for the job and one year it might be one person, one year somebody else – you can’t really predict. There isn’t an algebraic thing where we say, ‘Right, we have this and we have that, and it equals that’. It just doesn’t work like that.”
One strike against Sweeney would likely be her age, though. She is 28, and McWilliams said she prefers slightly older actors for the role.
“We did look at a lot of younger actors and I just don’t think they had the gravitas, they didn’t have the experience, they didn’t have the mental capacity to take it on, because it’s not just the part they’re taking on, it’s a massive responsibility,” she said. “So we kind of scrubbed that idea and went back to the drawing board and started again.”
