James Bond has been a movie franchise for nearly 60 years, but the superspy doesn’t deserve all the credit. A number of supporting players have been alongside 007 nearly every step of the way, characters like M, Q, and perhaps the most loyal of all, Miss Moneypenny. But Bond may have to get used to going it alone, because it looks like Moneypenny may be ready to step out of Bond’s shadow and star in her very own spinoff film.
Naomie Harris, who has portrayed the character since 2012’s Skyfall, revealed during a recent Good Morning America appearance that she has spoken to Bond producer Barbara Broccoli about getting a solo film, and while she said Broccoli didn’t seem psyched about the idea, Harris remains optimistic that it could happen one day. She also recently revealed in an interview with Coming Soon that Oscar-winning Moonlight director Barry Jenkins is interested in making a Moneypenny spinoff, and that she set up a meeting between him and Broccoli to try and get the gears turning on it. “Actually, Barry Jenkins, the director of Moonlight, he always said that he wanted to do a Moneypenny spin-off, so maybe…,” Harris told the site. “I got him together with Barbara [Broccoli], and they had a little discussion, but nothing’s happened so far, but you never know.”
With Harris’ portrayal, Moneypenny has gone from a secretary who spends all her time pining after Bond to a badass field agent in her own right. So if the Bond series changes course and decides to pursue the whole cinematic universe thing — which was the plan a few years back — then a Harris-led Moneypenny movie seems like a pretty great place to start.
