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Metro 2039Bawma
Bawma, "The Pirate King", is the leader of the Aleph black market in 007 First Light, played by Lenny Kravitz in voice and likeness; Bond meets him in Mauritania in The Past Never Dies.
Bawma, "The Pirate King", is the leader of Aleph in 007 First Light, a black-market arms network across the Western Hemisphere run from an abandoned ship graveyard in Mauritania, and Lenny Kravitz plays him with both his voice and his likeness (IO Interactive). It is Kravitz's first major video game performance. Bond and Greenway meet him in The Past Never Dies, and IO Interactive's own writers describe him as a villain, "but not necessarily the villain" (GosuGamers).
Quick facts
| Played by | Lenny Kravitz (voice and likeness) |
| Announced | Dec 11, 2025, The Game Awards |
| Title | "The Pirate King" |
| Runs | Aleph, a black-market arms network |
| Base | A ship graveyard in Mauritania |
| Mission | The Past Never Dies |
| Coming back | An "unexpected alliance" with MI6, announced Aug 20, 2026, no date as of Nov 4, 2026 |
Who is Bawma?
IO Interactive's backstory is short: by the age of 17 he had risen through the ranks of modern piracy, and he turned an abandoned ship graveyard in Mauritania into the base of his empire, Aleph (IO Interactive). IOI's official site sums up the mission there as infiltrating "a black market hub run by pirates", ideally without "becoming crocodile food" (IO Interactive).
Kravitz describes him as "magnetic and unpredictable", with danger in him but "also heart and purpose" (IO Interactive). Narrative director Martin Emborg called Bawma "a villain, but not necessarily the villain", and CEO Hakan Abrak said he is "not all-out evil"; both spoke to Game Rant, and GosuGamers reports that Kravitz was closely involved in creating the character (GosuGamers).
Lenny Kravitz
The musician and actor was announced as Bawma at The Game Awards, in news datelined Copenhagen on Dec 11, 2025, with a trailer showing Bawma holding Bond and Greenway in a standoff (IO Interactive). IOI's announcement lists his film roles as Cinna in The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Precious and The Butler, and notes his Golden Globe nominated song "Road To Freedom" for the Netflix film Rustin. The game's title song is not his but Lana Del Rey's; see Music and Theme Song.
Spoilers: Bawma in The Past Never Dies
Skip this section if you have not played the mission. Bond and Greenway drive into Aleph to find the rogue agent 009, and Bond raises a $100,000 fee to enter an arms auction there (Beebom). Bawma shows his rule early: he executes a man in the main square. Later his men knock out Bond and Greenway, and Bawma throws the treacherous dealer Barkhad Ali to the crocodiles. Greenway wins their release by naming "Harmony", Bawma's long-lost sister (Into Indie Games). At the end of the mission Bawma's men arrive and clear the area around the pair (Into Indie Games). One of the mission's Intel collectibles is a "Delivery Box (Bawma)" on a market stall left of the shooting range (PowerPyx).
Is Bawma coming back?
Yes, by IOI's word, though with no date. On Aug 20, 2026, announcing 4 million copies sold, IOI said that after the events in Mauritania an "unexpected alliance between MI6 and Pirate King Bawma" would need Bond on a sensitive mission (IO Interactive). Game Rant's account of the Jun 6, 2026 roadmap also mentions a mission where MI6 teams up with Bawma (OpenCritic, Game Rant). The roadmap's Mauritania TacSim content, a return to Aleph's black market with off-road driving, had not arrived by Nov 4, 2026 (IO Interactive). See Year One Roadmap.
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Bawma in 007 First Light? Lenny Kravitz plays Bawma, "The Pirate King", in 007 First Light, with both his voice and his likeness; it is his first major video game role.
Is Bawma the villain of 007 First Light? Not the main one. IO Interactive's narrative director calls Bawma "a villain, but not necessarily the villain" of 007 First Light, and CEO Hakan Abrak says he is "not all-out evil".
Where is Bawma in 007 First Light? Bawma rules Aleph, a black market built in a ship graveyard in Mauritania, which Bond visits in 007 First Light's mission The Past Never Dies.
Will Bawma return in 007 First Light? IO Interactive said on Aug 20, 2026 that an "unexpected alliance between MI6 and Pirate King Bawma" is coming to 007 First Light; as of Nov 4, 2026 it has no name or date.
Sources
- Lenny Kravitz joins 007 First Light as The Pirate King Bawma, IO Interactive, Dec 12, 2025
- 007 First Light developer reveals Lenny Kravitz was closely involved in creating his character Bawma, GosuGamers (Anna Bernardo), about May 2026
- 007 First Light, IO Interactive, official site
- 007 First Light The Past Never Dies Mission Walkthrough, Beebom (Sanmay Chakrabarti), May 28, 2026
- 007 First Light - The Past Never Dies Walkthrough, Into Indie Games (Mohamed El Ouardighi), May 30, 2026
- 007 First Light - Beyond The Grave Walkthrough, Into Indie Games (Mohamed El Ouardighi), May 31, 2026
- 007 First Light All Collectible Locations Guide, PowerPyx, May 26, 2026
- 007 First Light reaches 4 million copies sold, IO Interactive, Aug 20, 2026
- 007 First Light Reveals Year 1 Update Roadmap, OpenCritic (Michael Brandon Ingram, Game Rant), Jun 6, 2026
- 007 First Light Year One Content Roadmap Revealed, IO Interactive, Jun 6, 2026
- 007 First Light - Lenny Kravitz (Bawma) Cast Sessions, 007 First Light, Jun 6, 2026 (video)
- Beyond the Light Episode 3 - Story Dev Diary, 007 First Light, Apr 7, 2026 (video)
- 007 First Light - Year One Content, IO Interactive, Jun 6, 2026 (video)
Moments
007 First Light - Lenny Kravitz (Bawma) Cast Sessions
007 First Light
Beyond the Light Episode 3 - Story Dev Diary
007 First Light
007 First Light - Year One Content
IO Interactive
Photos
Related
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M, Q and MoneypennyIn 007 First Light, Priyanga Burford plays M, the head of MI6 who recruits Bond, Alastair Mackenzie plays Q, who runs the Q-Lab and its gadgets, and Kiera Lester plays Eve Moneypenny, M's right hand.
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Nicholas WebbSpoiler warning. Sir Nicholas Webb, CEO of Webb Industries and creator of MI6's AI THEIA, is the real villain of 007 First Light with his son Damien; Anthony Howell and Bart Edwards play them.
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Selina TanDr. Selina Tan is MI6's Head of Tactical Simulation in 007 First Light, the character who runs the TacSim training mode, played by Gemma Chan in her first video game role.
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007 First Light vs Hitman007 First Light plays like a more guided, cinematic Hitman: IO Interactive's Glacier engine, social stealth and several routes to each goal carry over, but the levels are more linear, the hero is a named Bond, and set pieces and chases replace Hitman's open sandboxes.
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IO InteractiveIO Interactive, the independent Copenhagen studio behind Hitman, made and self-published 007 First Light on its own Glacier engine, with Amazon MGM Studios as its Bond partner.
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James Bond Games in OrderThe major James Bond games run from GoldenEye 007 (1997) through the EA and Activision years to 007 Legends (2012), then a 14-year gap until IO Interactive's 007 First Light on May 27, 2026.
- Accessibility007 First Light offers full button remapping with presets, hold toggles, automatic climbing and vaulting, customizable subtitles, menu narration, QTE autocomplete and photosensitivity options. It lacks chase assists and captions for guard alerts, and no source confirms colorblind modes.
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See also
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Music and Theme Song007 First Light's theme song is "First Light", sung by Lana Del Rey and written by Del Rey with David Arnold, released Apr 16, 2026; the game's score is by the composer duo The Flight.
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Year One Roadmap007 First Light's Year One roadmap, published by IO Interactive on Jun 5, 2026, promised TacSim returns to Kensington, Slovakia, Mauritania and Vietnam, regular TacSim updates and New Game+. As of Nov 4, 2026, everything but the Mauritania content has shipped; the Bawma mission and G2 Glasses have no date.
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Cast and CharactersPatrick Gibson plays a 26-year-old James Bond in 007 First Light, with Lennie James as his mentor John Greenway, Priyanga Burford as M, Alastair Mackenzie as Q, Kiera Lester as Moneypenny, Gemma Chan as Selina Tan and Lenny Kravitz as the Pirate King Bawma.
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John GreenwayJohn Greenway is James Bond's mentor in 007 First Light, a former 00 agent who runs the revived 00 program's training, played by Lennie James.