A thrilling James Bond update for both moviegoers and the iconic British spy himself: 007's latest love interest will reportedly be played by sexy Spanish Oscar winner Penélope Cruz. The Guardiannotes that if the casting report is correct, Cruz will be appearing in the upcoming Bond film at the age of 40, suggesting that the enduring “Bond girl” character may finally be maturing into womanhood.The Guardian hails the rumored casting as a “a feminist breakthrough, one for the annals. Finally, cinema’s ultimate chauvinist has got himself an age-appropriate girlfriend.”

Other corners of the Internet, however, opt for a more familiar spin on the development. Yahoo! broke the casting news with the drearily chauvinistic headline: “Penélope Cruz to be ‘the oldest ever Bond girl.'” The Sun, MTV U.K., and NextMovie further deflate the exciting news by headlining their reports similarly.

Regardless of the Internet's thoughts, Bond producers, who have apparently been pursuing Cruz for years now, seem appropriately eager to finalize the deal. A source close to production tells Yahoo!, “The producers have tried to get Penélope before, but she has never been available because of other commitments. The discussions have been going on for some time and they are working out the contract details now.” Cruz's husband, Javier Bardem, played a blond cyber-terrorist in the last Bond installment, Skyfall.

Last week, Deadline reported that Sam Mendes, who directed Skyfall, is in talks to return to the franchise for the next installment after temporarily bowing out of the series earlier this year. During a conference call this March, Bond studio M.G.M. told investors that it was aiming for a new Bond release in three years. John Logan is writing the script for the 24th Bond film, with Daniel Craig slated to star. It has also been reported that James Bond producers are hoping to woo Adele—who won the Oscar for the Skyfall theme this year—back for *Skyfall'*s follow-up.