"James Bond" films traverse the fine line between reality and fantasy but the gender of MI6 real-life Q, is actually a woman.
In an interview, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in the United Kingdom Alex Younger confirmed publicly that their new Quartermaster is in fact, a woman. The Quartermaster is in charge of keeping, developing and handling the latest technology and weaponry for the spy organization, Telegraph reported.
The character Q is usually portrayed as a man in "Bond" films. Younger quipped that they do not really know her real identity and playfully joked that is because she is in the spy game after all. Younger revealed this at the Women in IT Awards in London in an attempt to lure more women with scientific or technological background to join the MI6.
"If any of you would like to join us ... the real-life Q is looking forward to meeting you and I'm pleased to report that the real-life Q is a woman," he said.
He went to say that technology has now become indispensable in the intelligence community.
"Technology now is at the core of what we do in a way that it wasn't before," he said.
In the movies, Q was portrayed as an integral part of the intelligence group who comes up with imaginative gadgets to help agents. Originally, the character was played by Peter Burton in 1962, Desmond Llewelyn in 1963-1999, John Cleese in 1999-2002. In the latest reiteration of the franchise, Ben Whishaw plays the character, Screen Rant reported.
In the movies, Q provides Batman-worthy signature gadgets to Bond for his missions. Among them includes a modified Aston Martin DB5, wrist-gun that shoots poison darts, homing devices in the shoes, a pen grenade and breathing capsules.
It is yet to be known whether the next "Bond" film a.k.a. "James Bond 25" will finally break the pattern and cast a female Q. Whether they were conscious that the character had always been portrayed as a man, this could be their chance to finally get a female actor for the role.
Watch the clip below to see the gadgets used in the "James Bond" series:
