James Bond boss Barbara Broccoli has dismissed the idea of having a woman play the titular secret agent in a future film, saying she feels it would be a “gimmick”.
As Daniel Craig prepares to begin filming his final outing as 007, there’s already a lot of conversation about who will land the job once he leaves, with Richard Madden and Idris Elba among the names that are currently being mentioned in the media.
But while some have suggested the role should go to a woman in the next instalment, this isn’t an idea that Barbara Broccoli, who is in charge of the franchise, is keen on.
Speaking on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, she said: “We have to make movies about women and women’s stories, but we have to create female characters, and not just for a gimmick turn a male character into a woman.”
Barbara previously shot down the suggestion of a woman playing James Bond last year, stating: “Bond is male. He’s a male character. He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male.”
On the debate about whether the franchise is sexist, she added: “[James Bond] was written in the 50s, so there’s certain things in his DNA that are probably not gonna change.”
Earlier this week, the cast of the upcoming 25th James Bond film was revealed, with recent Oscar winner Rami Malek set to play a new villain.
It was also confirmed that Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge would be joining the film’s writing team.
The new film – dubbed Bond 25 in the absence of an official title – is currently slated for release in April 2020.