Conversations regarding the next Bond have been reignited now that Daniel Craig has entered the chat. In recent years, some fans have petitioned for the long-running, iconic character to be portrayed by a Black man with actors like Idris Elba and John Boyega's names being tossed into the hat of possibilities. The very thought has caused Bond purists to be up in arms, and if they were upset about that, they certainly don't want to see a woman take on the character.
There have been discussions regarding whether or not Bond could one day be played by a woman, but franchise producer Barbara Broccoli shot that possibility down last year in an interview with Variety.
"He can be of any color, but he is male," Broccoli stated at the time. "I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."
Craig seemed to echo that sentiment during a recent interview with Radio Times where he said, “Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
This comment comes after speculation regarding Lashana Lynch, a 33-year-old actress who stars in the forthcoming No Time to Die film, taking over the character. There have been rumors that she will go on to portray the first Black woman as Bond, but it is clear that the franchise has no plans to move forward with that idea.
No Time To Die is set to hit American theaters on October 8 and will be Daniel Craig's last 007 film.