Naomie Harris to star as Miss Moneypenny in Bond 23

As one British tabloid shuts its doors, another one is doing what they do best: talking James Bond rumors. The Daily Mail is reporting that Naomie Harris is in “final negotiations” to star as Miss Moneypenny in the upcoming BOND 23. Normally I’d take casting news from The Daily Mail with a grain of salt but they do seem to be clued into the Bond scene so I’ll roll with them on this one.

Moneypenny, the secretary to Bond’s boss M (Judi Dench in this latest iteration of films), has been played by five separate actresses over the years, lastly by Samantha Bond in 2002’s DIE ANOTHER DAY. While she’s a girl with considerable romantic tension with Bond, the character is not necessarily considered a “Bond girl,” which means we’ll likely have another actress cast to the film shortly.

The paper also suggests that once-rumored actors Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem are confirmed for the film but list no roles for them and we haven’t heard much about either of their involvements in months (it’s unclear whether the Mail is going off old rumors or has some new intel on those actors).

Sam Mendes is directing the upcoming BOND film later this year. A representative for the production confirmed that they had met with Harris about the part but stopped short of confirming she had landed the role.