In the lead up for the long-awaited Bond film ‘No Time to Die’, which was marked as a farewell to actor Daniel Craig as James Bond, there was a lot of talk on who the new James Bond would be in future films.
Most fans have their favourites for who they wanted to be the next James Bond, and there is a lot of discussion about the role possibly being taken over by a female actor. However, Craig threw a spanner in the works when he made his opinion on the matter public.
In September, he told Radio Times that he doesn’t think the film industry should be gender flipping iconic roles and that they should instead be putting in the effort to create brand new iconic roles for women.
This raises the question, why has the film industry been so slow to put more female leads in the spotlight?
There have been many iconic roles to choose from in hundreds of books and comics for years and yet it feels like we’re only just starting to get films and TV shows with strong female leads, such as Black Widow or Wandavison.
I don’t know about you but I was way more excited to see the Scarlet Witch than I was to see the female Doctor Who because it simply felt way more thought out and exciting.
On that note, here is a list of iconic female characters who I think would make great leads for films and TV shows.
Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy is an intriguing character with awesome powers and an exciting look. Not only that, but she’s also one of Batman’s greatest enemies and tries her best to save the environment (however, she does have slightly chaotic methods). If that doesn’t make for an amazing lead, I don’t know what does?
I believe there is also a vulnerable side to her. Her weaknesses include needing CO2 and sunlight to survive, she cannot control plants with consciousness and she also feels the pain of her plants! Someone who cares that much for plants is surely not 100% evil!
She has already had the villain to hero plotline as a side character but I believe that plotline would be great for her as a lead.
Mazikeen
‘Mazikeen of the Lilim’, also known as ‘Maze’, is a character on the popular show ‘Lucifer’ and known as Lucifer’s personal demon. She is a child of Lilith, Lucifer’s first wife, and one of the oldest and strongest demons.
She is an iconic character who follows her every urge and is definitely someone who deserves to be feared.
Throughout the show, she experiences what it’s like to be without Lucifer and also learns how to deal with her emotions about her past. A film about this character and her time in hell would be a top seller!
Vin
Vin is the main protagonist from the Mistborn trilogy. She is highly skilled in Allomancy, which is the ability to burn metal in order to use it for multiple mental or physical enhancements.
She has an insane backstory and plotline, making her the perfect candidate for a lead in a film.
The Mistborn world is full of people with magical powers, with the addition of powerful villains and heroes. I can see a fantastic movie being made from this trilogy and it would provide the film world with a very interesting female lead.
Brandon Sanderson, the author of the trilogy, has revealed the exciting news that a Mistborn film will be produced soon. The author also revealed that he regretted not including more women in the story and so has adapted two characters into women for the film so we are getting even more iconic female roles!
Paloma
Actress Ana De Armas proved Daniel Craig’s point when she brought her role as Paloma in the new Bond film No Time To Die to life.
Even though she was only in the film for a short amount of time, she made a massive impact and left us all wanting more.
In the film, Paloma works with Bond despite not having much training. The character breaks through the barrier of the normal Bond girl trope and shows a woman who is not only sexy but strong and smart.
I believe that a movie about how she became an agent and whether or not she really only ever received “three weeks training” would be amazing.
But these are just a few of the wonderful female characters who we believe could build a successful TV or film franchise of their own, are there others you would have included? Tell us below
By Claire Little
Instagram: @claire_little__