Michaela Coel predicts Paapa Essiedu will be the next James Bond: “That’s how it feels”
Speaking exclusively with Far Out, BAFTA-winner Michaela Coel has predicted her I May Destroy You co-star Paapa Essiedu will become the next James Bond.
Essiedu is one of the leading candidates to replace Daniel Craig, who bowed out of the role following his final appearance in 2021’s No Time To Die. As of yet, the follow-up film is currently still in the scripting stage, and there’s still no official announcement on a potential release date or who will feature in the titular role.
During an interview with Far Out, Coel threw her support behind Essiedu, stating: “The way that so many people around me feel this, it makes me feel like he is going to be the next James Bond.”
She continued: “That’s how it feels. And I wouldn’t be surprised. And you know what? He’s so fucking swaggy and cool that I don’t even think he would be surprised.”
Despite her enthusiasm for Essiedu, Coel claimed she’s not engaged with the franchise enough to “be here frothing at the mouth for a Black one”.
However, Coel added: “I’m sure we’d love a black one. We’d love a female one. We’d love a queer one. We’d love a trans one. I think we just want to be everywhere. We want to see everything everywhere… It would be great if, you know, that happened”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Coel shared her love for Raine Allen Miller’s rom-com Rye Lane, set in South London, commenting: “I feel like the more we crave these stories, the more we’re gonna have to give people that don’t really exist in the mainstream an opportunity to do the work, and often that is independent movies. I know right now it’s a struggle, but I honestly have hope.”
Meanwhile, earlier this year, James Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams claimed young actors lack the “mental capacity” and “gravitas” to play the spy.
“When we started, it was a slightly different feel. 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…So we kind of scrubbed that idea and went back to the drawing board and started again,” she told the Radio Times.
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