Lashana Lynch Is Taking Over the Big Screen — Get to Know Her Better

Although Lynch is best known for her work on screen, she actually started out as a singer-songwriter. "I was a singer before I started acting. I first started songwriting at 12 years old but then acting took over and I went to drama school. I'm trying to get back into it now – so watch out for my EP!" she told BMS World Mission back in 2012.

"I always write my own stuff, it's a fusion of soul, jazz and experimental. It's a soul vibe really... Usually I write the lyrics and I meet with guitarists, pianists and drummers. I find that best represents my music, I don't like artificial sounds. So yeah, hopefully more to come soon!" she explained in 2014 to Afridiziak Theatre News.

Lynch has been acting for years, but it's her role in Captain Marvel that launched her into the spotlight as part of the world's biggest movie franchise. She plays Maria Rambeau, the fierce fighter pilot and best friend to Brie Larson's Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. The dynamic between Maria and Carol is the heart of the film, something Lynch told Vanity Fair was unusual for a superhero flick and important.

"The drama and the connection between the two women is just as important as the connection from the universe to the audience."

It seems impossible to imagine anyone other than Lynch playing the role, but she actually was a late-in-the-game replacement. Originally, DeWanda Wise was slated to play Maria, but in March 2018, news broke that Lynch had been brought on board instead. Reportedly, Wise had to drop out because the shooting schedule conflicted with her commitments to the Netflix series She's Gotta Have It.

Lynch is jumping right from one iconic movie franchise to another. Although her exact role is still being kept tightly under wraps, we do know that she will appear in some capacity in the still-untitled Bond 25.

The announcement was made in Jamaica at the Goldeneye resort, near the spot where Ian Fleming created and wrote the original James Bond novels. For Lynch, the location was particularly meaningful: she's of Jamaican descent herself.

"It means everything to me to be here working," Lynch told Essence. "It's slightly bizarre because I normally come here to see family and sit on the beach and have a drink in my hand. But now I get to mesh the two worlds together and it is exciting."