Yet another leak ahead of tonight’s The Game Awards 2025 has revealed a legendary music star as a new James Bond villain in 007 First Light.
In a now-deleted social post from the official 007 social media account, Fly Away singer Lenny Kravitz was unmasked as playing a First Light character named Bawma, who shares Kravitz’s likeness. And while the post may have been swiftly removed, the internet still took notice — seemingly letting a further secret out ahead of tonight’s big gaming awards and announcement event.
“He rose from nothing, broke free, and built his own Kindom of Aleph,” the now-deleted post read. “Introducing Bawma, the largest black-market dealer in the Western Hemisphere who’s as charismatic as he is unpredictable.”
The accompanying video, now also deleted, shows clearly that Bawma is a villain, as he has strung up Bond and threatens to drop him into a pit packed with crocodiles.
Kravitz is most famous for his lengthy Grammy Award-winning musical career, but the star also holds a handful of acting credits, most notably for his work in The Hunger Games and its sequel Catching Fire, as hero Katniss Everdeen’s fashionable aide Cinna.
Of course, Kravitz is not the first big name set to appear in 007: First Light, the upcoming James Bond blockbuster in development at Hitman developer IO Interactive. The game will also feature Eternals star Gemma Chan and The Walking Dead actor Lennie James, while Dexter: Original Sin’s Patrick Gibson is the new Bond himself.
Kravitz will also be far from the first musician to appear in a James Bond property. “Continuing the trope of musical performers randomly appearing in Bond media, I see,” Bond fan Jordan Gill noted on social media. “Jimmy Dean, Grace Jones, Wayne Newton, Madonna… now Lenny Kravitz.”
“Lenny Kravitz bringing Bawma to life is wild enough — but now I’m wondering… could he also be the one singing the title song in the end?” added another fan, ExpectingMrBond. “Maybe not Lana after all?”
Video Games singer Lana Del Rey was recently spotted having recorded a fresh song titled “First Light”, which would be a neat fit for the franchise and IO Interactive’s game after her earlier track “24” was famously snubbed as the theme for Daniel Craig outing Spectre, the 24th Bond movie.
Tune in to The Game Awards 2025 to get a proper look at Kravitz in the role, as IGN reports on the event live.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
