James Bond Producer Shoots Down Female James Bond Idea
James Bond won't be play by a woman if one producer has any say in the matter.
This article is more than 2 years old
Everyone wants to know who will replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. With his final appearance in No Time To Die delayed for so long, it’s given audiences too much to speculate. Rumors have been rampant online about what the studio will do. Will it be Regé-Jean Page taking on the role? Richard Madden? Idris Elba? Henry Cavill? The list of rumored actors is long, and that may very well be because the studio is considering many possibilities. One possibility that the internet has thrown around is the idea that the next James Bond could be played by a woman. Daniel Craig has come out against that idea. And now, so has James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.
During an interview with BBC Radio 4, the producer said, “James Bond is a male character. I hope that there will be many, many films made with women, for women, by women, about women. I don’t think we have to take a male character and have a woman portray him. So yes, I see him as male.”
Hollywood has been working on figuring out diversity and representation. This progress comes at a time when star power and big names aren’t as much of a draw as franchises. Reboots are a thing of the times. In an attempt to steer toward diversity and build powerful franchises, a lot of studios have leaned into reboots for franchises where a woman takes over a character previously played as a man. This strategy has failed to tell the stories of women in powerful ways and has come across with audiences as cheap and often annoying. It’s happened so often at this point that fans are coming to expect that kind of play from franchises, so promises from producers are proving necessary.
When Daniel Craig refined what he had to say about the next James Bond being played by a woman, he said that there should be better parts written specifically for women and actors of color. Women shouldn’t have to play James Bond, he siad. They should have better parts available to them.
Of course, that’s an easy thing to say. It may sound hypocritical, and it definitely doesn’t sound particularly helpful. On one hand, Daniel Craig and Barbara Broccoli have a point when they say that women shouldn’t have to play James Bond to be seen, there should be other roles for them. But how is keeping James Bond as a man doing anything to provide more diversity, representation, or opportunity for women? While the main character may be staying a man in the franchise, No Time To Die does seem to be working on expanding representation. The movie will have a prominent 007 co-star played by a woman.
In fact, it was that role that ramped up the rumor mill. Many speculated that Lashana Lynch was the next James Bond. The actress, known for her role as Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel, will soon be seen in No Time To Die. The movie will see her making history as the first Black woman to play a 007. Her character’s name is Nomi, and at first, Lashana Lynch said that she was hesitant to take on the character. She wanted to only take on roles that were written in a way that felt authentic to her experience as a Black woman. She said that after talking to producer Barbara Broccoli, the director, and one of the writers working on the script, she decided to take on the role. The actress’s own qualifications sound in line with what Barbara Broccoli is promising from the James Bond franchise.
At the end of the day, we’re still waiting on news about who will play the next James Bond. The only thing we do seem to know is that the character won’t be played by a woman.
