WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Black Bag.
Michael Fassbender’s gripping new espionage thrillerBlack Bagnearly combines two separate eras of the celebratedJames Bondfranchise with two distinct casting selections. Steven Soderbergh and David Koepp joined forces after their 2025 horrorPresencewith the meticulously structured and fast-pacedBlack Bag, which may require multiple viewingsat a razor-sharp 93-minute runtime. Fassbender stars alongside the unparalleled Cate Blanchett as George Woodhouse, the secret agent husband of Blanchett’s Kathryn St. Jean. Rounding outBlack Bag’scastare Pierce Brosnan, Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, and Naomie Harris.
Black Bagfeatures many similar thematic and narrative elements to thecelebratedJames Bondfranchiseand even features two of its key actors from different007eras. WithJames Bondrecently being sold to Amazon, there’s a lot to be sorted out about the franchise’s future, particularly about who is finally going to replace Daniel Craig as the generational titular figure.Regé-Jean Page, who has been in previous talks to take the reins of the Bond character, feels like he gives his best audition as the sleek and calculated Col. James Stokes inBlack Bag. It’s impossible to ignore that Brosnan and Harris are both Bond alumni appearing inBlack Bag.
Bond Franchise Actors Pierce Brosnan & Naomie Harris Have Roles In Black Bag
Brosnan Played Bond While Harris Appeared In The Last 3 Installments
Brosnan, who played Bond from 1995 to 2002, is a part of the ensemble cast ofBlack Bagalongside Harris, who appeared in the last three Bond movies. WithBlack Bagbeing set in London, it appears that Koepp and Soderbergh may have been heavily inspired by theBondfranchise and may consider their film a sort of unofficial entry into the franchise.
Brosnan starred as Bond in 1995’sGoldenEye, 1997’sTomorrow Never Dies, 1999’sThe World Is Not Enough, and 2002’sDie Another Day.
Brosnan starred as Bond in 1995’sGoldenEye, 1997’sTomorrow Never Dies, 1999’sThe World Is Not Enough, and 2002’sDie Another Day. Harris plays Moneypenny, a secretary to M, in 2012’sSkyfall, 2015’sSpectre, and 2021’sNo Time to Die.
Although Brosnan was front-and-center in his fourBondfilms, he plays the supporting characterArthur Stieglitz inBlack Bag, the head of the National Cyber Security Center in London. Arthur is George and Kathryn’s boss at the NCSC but mostly remains in the background throughout the film, which is the complete opposite of his multiple performances as 007. As for Harris, she similarly plays a supporting character in bothBlack Bagand her threeBondinstallments. HerBlack Bagcharacter, Dr. Zoe Vaughn, is a clinical psychologist who conducts mandatory evaluations with NCSC agents like George and Kathryn.
Pierce Brosnan & Naomie Harris Don’t Have Any Scenes Together In Black Bag
Black Bag Misses Out On Creating A Meta Bond Franchise Moment
Even though Brosnan and Harris both play key characters inBlack Bag, they are never on-screen together, which kind of seems like a missed opportunity. Due to the rapid-fire nature of Koepp’s screenplay, there appears to be virtually zero wiggle room for anything superfluous, which is likely a major factor in whythe film couldn’t afford to include a “meta” Bond franchise moment. Clearly, both Brosnan and Harris’s experience in the Bond franchise helped their performances as NCSC personnel. Even putting them in the same room would have made an interesting Easter Egg that unfortunately did not occur inBlack Bag.
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By theend ofBlack Bag, both Brosnan’s Arthur and Harris’s Zoe were part of the plan to leakSeverus, an advanced cyber weaponthat can set off any nuclear reactor core on the planet. While Zoe was partly responsible for her part in the elaborate plot to frame Kathryn for the leak, the true mastermind wasArthur, who, with the help of Pages' James Stokes, intentionally handed Severus into the hands of two Russian criminalssetting course for Moscow. This would have caused a nuclear catastrophe and cost tens of thousands of innocent lives but would have ceased Russia’s persistent war efforts.
Both Are Various Degrees Of Antagonists In Black Bag
Image via Focus Features
Whereas Harris and Brosnan’s characters in theBondfranchise are both on the good side of the conflict, both are quite nefarious in Black Bag. Several characters end up being involved in the plot to set George against Kathryn, but none are more responsible for the Severus leak thanBrosnan’s Arthur, making him the true villain ofBlack Bagnext to Page’s James.
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Zoe was mostly guilty of playing along with the scheme to frame Kathryn and mislead George, making her the less guilty party compared to Arthur. If anything, Fassbender’s George is the most Bond-like of the group inBlack Bag, using his secret agent skills and a bit of luck to save the day.
