The actor arrived at the Game Awards show on Thursday night to bolster the news.

Lenny Kravitz to play Bond villain in 007: First Light video game

The actor arrived at the Game Awards show on Thursday night to bolster the news.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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December 11, 2025 9:48 p.m. ET

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Lenny Kravitz will play Bond villain in '007: First Light' video game. Credit:

Gareth Cattermole/Getty; IO Interactive

Lenny Kravitz officially enters his Bond villain era.

The musician will portray Bawma, one of several antagonists coming to *007: First Light*, the upcoming video game, which features *Dexter: Origin Sin* star Patrick Gibson as a younger international man of mystery.

The developers at IO Interactive and the new franchise owners of Amazon MGM Studios announced the casting during the Game Awards on Thursday night. Kravitz attended the ceremony, which honors the best games of the year, to bolster the news.

The performer called it an honor to board 007: First Light for his "first voyage into the world of video games." He described Bawma as "a wild, unpredictable pirate ruler of Africa's biggest black market hub."

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Kravits said, "Where others see chaos, Bawma sees freedom. He rose from nothing, broke free, and built his own kingdom of Aleph — and his story's just beginning."

Set for release in 2026, *007: First Light* is described as a third-person story-driven action-adventure game that serves as a reimagined origin story for a 26-year-old James Bond.

The beloved character is depicted here as a promising but rebellious Royal Navy air crewman who's recruited by MI6. Gamers will play as Bond as he ascends the ranks of the spy organization while executing missions around the globe.

"The Bond franchise has such an incredible legacy in video games, so to step into it with a brand-new character like Bawma is amazing," Kravitz said in a prepared statement included in a press release. "He’s magnetic and unpredictable, there’s danger in him, but also heart and purpose. He’s not just a man with power; he is a man who has to fight for every inch of it. Bringing that energy into 007’s world felt incredible.”

Kravitz joins a game cast that also includes Priyanga Burford (*Steve*) as M, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service; Lennie James (*The Walking Dead*) as John Greenway, Bond's mentor; Kiera Lester as Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary; Alastair Mackenzie (*Monarch of the Glen*) as Q, Bond's gadget guru; Noemie Nakai (*Tokyo Vice*) as the mysterious Miss Roth; and Gemma Chan (*Eternals*) as Selina Tan, a member of MI6 who was critical in landing Bond his 00 stripes.

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A specific release date hasn't been set for next year, but *007: First Light* is expected to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

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Source: “EW Spy”