‘WOULDN’T FLY TODAY’

‘No Time to Die’ Director: Sean Connery’s Version of James Bond Was Basically a Rapist

Cary Fukunaga recalled a scene when Bond blackmails a woman into having sex with him.

Sean Connery’s version of James Bond in the 1960s was “basically” a rapist, according to the director of the long-awaited 007 movie No Time to Die. Connery, who died last year, was the first actor to play the British spy—and time has not been kind to his blatantly misogynistic portrayal. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, No Time to Die director Cary Fukunaga appeared to refer back to a scene in the 1965 Bond movie Thunderball in which Bond blackmails a woman into having sex with him to stop him from sharing compromising information about her. Bond tells a female character: “I suppose my silence could have a price.” She responds with “You don’t mean … oh, no,” before Bond replies “Oh, yes,” and pushes her into a sauna to have sex with her. Fukunaga said: “Is it Thunderball or Goldfinger where basically Sean Connery’s character rapes a woman? She’s like ‘No, no, no,’ and he’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ That wouldn’t fly today.” No Time to Die will premiere in London later this month.