By Once, the idea of a woman playing James Bond was outlandish, but not anymore. We've gone from Roger Moore's eyebrow-cocked "...a woman?" in Moonraker to a nodding acceptance that it'd be completely fine, all things considered.
The Overton window has shifted so far that former Bond Pierce Brosnan has thrown his weight behind the idea, fan-favourite for next Bond Cillian Murphy has given it the thumbs-up, and now Ben Whishaw, who's set to return as Q for a third time in No Time To Die, says he backs the idea.
"Why not? Reinvention of these long-running things is good – it's essential in fact. So I think it could be amazing," he told the Press Association.
This, as far as we're aware, is the first time that a current member of the cast has openly given the idea their support, though Daniel Craig did say a couple of weeks ago that "of course" Bond could be played by a woman in the future.
Brosnan was more vigorous in his endorsement, saying that it would be "exhilarating" and "exciting" for a woman to play the role: "I think we've watched the guys do it for the last 40 years - get out of the way, guys, and put a woman up there."
He didn't reckon that it would happen anytime soon, admittedly, but No Time To Die will see Lashana Lynch playing a spy operating under the 007 codename while Bond is off sunning himself in Jamaica and recuperating from the events of Spectre.
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