More than half a dozen actors have played late author Ian Fleming’s British secret agent James Bond over the years. Daniel Craig has been one of the most popular, and he returns for the franchise’s 25th entry.

But things have changed in this upcoming movie. Bond has reportedly retired to Jamaica and his codename reassigned.

“There is a pivotal scene at the start of the film where [MI6 chief] M says, ‘Come in 007,’ and in walks Lashana, who is black, beautiful and a woman,” a “movie insider” has told Britain’s The Daily Mail newspaper. “It’s a popcorn-dropping moment. Bond is still Bond but he’s been replaced as 007.”

This new 007 is played by 31-year-old actress Lashana Lynch, who appeared in “Captain Marvel” earlier this year. Many movie fans celebrated the news on social media, but Guardian columnist Noah Berlatsky isn’t convinced it’s going to be a meaningful pop-culture moment.

Actors Lea Seydoux, Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris and Lashana Lynch pose for photographers during the photo call of the latest installment of the James Bond film franchise, currently known as 'Bond 25', in Oracabessa, Jamaica, Thursday, April 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Leo Hudson)AP

“So will the new Bond treat Lashana Lynch as the real, heroic, central 007?” he wrote. “Early reports suggest maybe note. Supposedly, Lynch has inherited the 007 codename, and her mission is to ask Craig’s Bond to come out of retirement for a serious mission. That sounds as if the white, male Bond is still considered the best of the best, with Lynch relegated to a supporting role. It’s not hard to imagine her written as little more than another, slightly glorified Bond girl, who gets killed off halfway through.”

Berlatsky probably doesn’t have to worry so much. James Bond will be the “central” character -- it is, after all, a James Bond movie. But Lynch’s character is likely to be far more than a “glorified Bond girl.” “Fleabag” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who worked on the script, said the Bond franchise has “got to evolve, and the important thing is that the film treats the women properly.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean Bond himself has to evolve. “He doesn’t have to [change],” Waller-Bridge said. “He needs to be true to his character.”

The movie is currently in production.

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.