Plans for the future of the James Bond movies are in a bit of a holding pattern right now. With Barbara Broccoli and the rest of EON Productions still looking to start crafting Bond 26, and the future of the 007 saga with it, a lot of key decisions need to be made. However, as far as I’m concerned, Ms. Broccoli and company should call off its search for a new M; thanks to Olivia Colman throwing her hat into the ring.
As she spoke to Vogue during a recent interview, the Wonka star expressed some deep excitement about possibly taking over the role of Ian Fleming’s iconic spymaster. The pitch stemmed from the interviewer comparing Olivia Colman to Dame Judi Dench herself, thanks to her short haircut. Once that comparison was brought up, it didn’t take long for Olivia to stump for the role as follows:
The amount of time I have wanted to be M. I’m not sure who I need to call … I know, I met [Barbara Broccoli] once. I wanted to go, ‘Can I be M?’ I must try to be cooler about it. Maybe she reads Vogue? Put that bit in.
The actress was previously tipped as a potential Moneypenny for Bond 26 and beyond, thanks to Naomie Harris’ enthusiastic suggestion. As the current Moneypenny is still very hopeful to keep her role, which she last played in Daniel Craig’s James Bond swan song, No Time To Die, this intriguing pitch from Ms. Harris seems like a pretty good fit as well. But now that the Favourite star has flat out tossed her hat into the ring to play 007’s commanding officer, I'd honestly say this is the better fit.
That’s partially because Olivia Colman has some good practice in this sort of role in recent projects. Just this year, she played the role of Sonya Falsworth as part of the Secret Invasion cast and gave us a taste of what this could look like; which, in turn, reinforced a similar project that the 2019 Academy Award winner had tackled. By previously playing Angela Burr, an M-style figure to Tom Hiddleston in the limited series adaptation of John le Carré’s The Night Manager, Colman already built a foundation for her potential James Bond credentials.
Of course, both of those projects could also clash with the Empire of Light star’s odds of becoming the next M. With The Night Manager still moving towards its second season and Marvel's usual desire to keep its actors on retainer for future appearances, there’s a chance that either of those franchise could call the fan-favorite actress back to deliver her unique brand of gravitas. I mean, you can see in the clip below that Secret Invasion provided her with a very sleek and shady role:
As always, it all depends on who Bond 26 introduces as the next face of Commander Bond. The chemistry between Bond and M, or any member of the MI6 family, is as important as the companion James is paired with on his latest mission. For example, if November 2023’s James Bond odds report are any indication, current frontrunner James Norton would be the 007 to Olivia Colman’s M. That, on paper, sounds like another great fit.
There are a lot of moving pieces to consider in the world of James Bond, with M only being one of the many that orbit around the role of Bond himself. As such, we’ll have to wait until whatever “reinvention” planned by EON Productions becomes a more concrete reality before we really hold our breath over the next M.
Though with that being said, good luck shaking the thought of Olivia Colman commanding the desk that Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench and Bernard Lee stood behind before her. Especially if she happened to be paired with Henry Cavill as James.
It's just a scenario to think about while we wait for Bond 26 to hit theaters, at an undetermined point in the future. But in the meantime, you can next see Olivia Colman in Wonka, as it premieres in its 2023 movie release schedule slot of December 15th.
