In an alternate universe, Oscar-winningMoonlightandIf Beale Street Could TalkfilmmakerBarry Jenkinsis currently putting the finishing touches on a Moneypenny spinoff movie set within theJames Bonduniverse. Yes indeed, Moneypenny actressNaomie Harrisherself—who worked with Jenkins onMoonlightand received an Oscar nomination for her stunning turn in the Best Picture winner—recently revealed that she and Jenkins hatched a plan to make a Moneypenny movie.
So what happened? Well, according to Harris, theBondproducers weren’t too keen on the idea. Asked about the potential Moneypenny spinoff onGood Morning America(viaThe Playlist), Harris revealed that Jenkins was excited to potentially make a “kickass” Moneypenny movie, but when they pitched the idea to longtimeBondproducerBarbara Broccoli, the woman who holds the keys to the franchise wasn’t too keen:
“Yes, [Jenkins has] wanted to do a kind of badass, kickass action thing with Moneypenny, which I’m all for, actually. I got together with Barbara Broccoli, our producer, and I was like, ‘Let’s make this happen!’ But she wasn’t so down for it. But maybe one day; who knows? The conversation has started, at least.”
Harris sounds optimistic that this project hasn’t reached the end of the road, but it’s also not hard to see why Broccoli might have turned the idea down. One imagines this idea was pitched back around the time thatMoonlightwas coming out and hitting the awards circuit, which was a year after the latest Bond filmSpectrehad hit theaters and received a ho-hum response. Moreover, Bond himselfDaniel Craigwas talking about howhe’d rather “slash his wrists”than play James Bond again, so Broccoli was no doubt deep into trying to figure out how this lucrative franchise would continue.
It now appears that Craig’s run as Bond will come to an end with theCary Fukunaga-directedNo Time to Die, which is currently in production, but before the producers cast a new James Bond it could be extremely cool to see Harris take the lead in a Moneypenny spinoff. Make it for a smaller budget, a bit dirtier, a bit more grounded, and you’re off to the races.
I wouldloveto see Jenkins’ touch on the franchise, especially with his longtime DPJames Laxtonbehind the camera. The filmmaker moved into making theJames BaldwinadaptationIf Beale Street Could TalkafterMoonlightand is currently in the midst of filming his Amazon Prime TV series adaptation of theColson WhiteheadnovelThe Underground Railroad, but after that, who knows? Maybe well finally get this Moneypenny movie.
What do you think folks? Would you watch a Moneypenny movie from Harris and Jenkins? Sound off in the comments below, andclick here for our ranking of every Bond movie so far.
