Ana de Armas Finally Lands Her James Bond Replacement After 5 Years Of Silence

While Ana de Armas stole the show in 2021’s No Time To Die, it took half a decade for the actor to find a fitting replacement for her short-lived James Bond franchise role. Ana de Armas first emerged back in 2015’s Knock Knock and 2017’s Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049, but it was a while before the actor got a chance to prove her potential as a leading lady. In 2019’s instantly iconic whodunit Knives Out, Armas managed to hold her own against Daniel Craig’s scene-stealing super detective, Benoit Blanc.

Since then, the star’s screen career has been an uneven one. Her performance in 2022’s Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde earned her acclaim, but the movie itself was heavily criticized. 2022’s erotic thriller Deep Water was roundly mocked by critics, and both the same year’s The Gray Man and 2023’s Ghosted proved that Armas had a hard time establishing herself as a credible action heroine. This was somewhat surprising, since Armas had previously been the best part of a James Bond movie.

In 2021’s No Time To Die, Armas stole the show as Bond’s CIA agent and confidante Paloma. A highly skilled killer but also an effervescent and playful screen presence, Paloma was one of the best things about No Time To Die, and Armas’ appearance in the movie was one of the few times that Craig’s Bond swan song felt like a classic fleet-footed, light-hearted spy adventure. Fortunately, Armas’ upcoming spy thriller Impunity can now allow the star to replace her potential Bond spinoff five years later.

Why Ana de Armas Is Unlikely To Appear Again In The James Bond Franchise

Nicola Dove / MGM / Danjaq

Coming from The Settlers director Felipe Gálvez, Impunity will be a globe-trotting spy thriller set between Chile, Spain, and the UK. The movie follows the real-life trail of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, one of the most infamous mass murderers in 20th-century history. A violent right-wing authoritarian, Pinochet killed countless innocent civilians for Communist ties while instilling neoliberal policies with the support of the US government. Impunity will follow a Chilean envoy and an NGO mercenary caught up in a conspiracy surrounding the dictator’s trial.

With a supporting cast that includes Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, and Alejandro Goic, Impunity also stars Sebastian Stan as Armas’ co-lead. The spy thriller could be a perfect replacement for Armas’ potential Paloma spinoff, which, five years after the arrival of No Time To Die, seems vanishingly unlikely to materialize any time soon. Since No Time To Die’s ending took a massive creative risk for the franchise by killing off Craig’s version of Bond, the series now needs to do a hard reboot with its next outing.

The rights to the James Bond franchise have changed hands since No Time To Die’s release and, five years on, the creators of the series seem no closer to casting the all-important role of the next 007. Although Dune franchise mastermind Denis Villeneuve has been announced as Bond 26’s director, no plot details have been released yet, and it is still unclear whether the next movie in the iconic spy series will acknowledge the events of No Time To Die.

The death of Craig’s version of Bond might fundamentally reshape the franchise by explicitly confirming that James Bond is a code name passed down from one agent to another in the event of their death or retirement. However, Bond 26 could just as easily reboot the canon of the franchise entirely and never mention the existence of Craig’s Bond.

This would make it impossible for Armas’ character to return to the world of the series, which makes the star’s upcoming spy thriller even more exciting. As the James Bond franchise struggles with its future in the wake of No Time To Die’s ending, Impunity can finally give the movie’s breakout star the spy story she sorely deserves.

Release Date

October 8, 2021

Runtime

163 Minutes

Director

Cary Joji Fukunaga