IO Interactive’s 007 First Light treads fine line between paying homage to the novels and movies while presenting an original story about James Bond’s origins. In a new Beyond the Light developer diary, the team outlines M (played by Priyanga Burford), Miss Moneypenny (Kiera Lester) and newcomer Greenway. However, we also get to learn more about Q, played by Alastair Mackenzie of Andor fame.
The Pierce Brosnan era of Bond has primarily featured an older Q, one who baulks at his antics but also has a kind of “twinkling” in his eye, a sense of wonder at inventing. That same sense is present in 007 First Light, but this time, he’s slightly younger, more fitting the “cool uncle figure” that Mackenzie saw him as when growing up.
“First Light is, as I say, more of an origin story. We see him as a slightly younger man, and we see him as somebody who’s experienced in the field. He has to teach Bond how to become an agent effectively. He’s more of a kind of teacher-mentor figure. There’s a lot of tech involved.
“You know, he kind of likes to mess around a bit, and Q has to keep him in check and remind him that he has a job to do, and he has to do it properly, and he can’t mess around with these gadgets because they’re dangerous, and he’s got to treat them with the respect and the care that they deserve. Our Q has to be someone who commands that kind of respect, has that sort of authority.
“He is the sort of professor and the teacher and the mentor, but is also a little bit of a twinkling of his eye as well, and he’s a friend of Bond as well.”
Interestingly, he also teases that Q has a “few tasty moves under his belt” that he can use when necessary. “Q would not be where he is today if he were not experienced in the field himself,” says Mackenzie.
As for Greenway, he’s also a mentor figure, but one who’s not particularly high on Bond joining the 007 program. His impression of Bond is “someone who got lucky and should just, you know, keep walking,” as narrative and cinematic director Martin Emborg describes him.
There is a lot more information to glean, including lead and senior character artist Beatrice Harty explaining the process of designing villains like Bawma, scanning actors for their in-game characters, and more. Sadly, there are no hints on who 009 could be.
007 First Light launches on May 27th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2, so stay tuned for any updates on that front. In the meantime, you can check out an extended version of Bawma’s reveal with much more alligator action.