James Bond has always been a man's man. Yes, his misogynistic mannerisms of the 60's and 70's have been heavily toned down, but Bond is still the embodiment of masculinity. He's attractive, trained in combat, owns nice cars, and sleeps with endless exotic women. The entire concept of Bond relies on his persona, and executive producer Barbara Broccoli agrees.
Speaking with The Guardian, Broccoli revealed that future Bond movies won't be doing a gender switch any time soon. "Bond is male,” she said. “He’s a male character. He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male." There have been calls for a change in race or sex for Bond, with rumors swirling around an Idris Elba casting for months. Elba denied those rumors, but some fans are still asking for a change to the familiar Bond narrative. "We don’t have to turn male characters into women," continued Broccoli. "Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”
"Look at the way the world has changed," Broccoli opined. "And I think Bond has come through and transformed with the times. I’ve tried to do my part, and I think particularly with the Daniel [Craig] films, they’ve become much more current in terms of the way women are viewed.” Bond 25 is scheduled to begin filming next year with a proposed 2020 release date.