James Bond Producer Says They’ll Never Cast A Female 007

Following the general greater call for major franchises to put women front and center in recent years, the chatter about Daniel Craig potentially being replaced as James Bond by an actress has increased a lot lately. There are strong voices on both sides of the argument, too, with those for it saying the move would reinvigorate the character in a contemporary setting while those against say that it would be disingenuous to flip 007’s gender.

One of those on the latter side is longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, who recently spoke to The Guardian and admitted that she thinks of the character as “male” and believes he’ll “stay as a male.” That said, she did suggest that she’s also keen to create more prominent female roles for the spy franchise.

“Bond is male. He’s a male character. He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male. And that’s fine,” Broccoli added. “We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”

Broccoli then went on to defend the Bond series’ presentation of women. Particularly with the modern Craig films, the producer says she’s always tried to bring the franchise’s depiction and treatment of its female characters up to date.

“Look at the way the world has changed. 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.”

These comments are quite interesting as, in response to a question about whether the character could be played by either a person of color or a woman a few months ago, Broccoli seemed more open to the idea, stating “anything’s possible.” In retrospect, she was probably saying that she was open to casting a male Bond of a different ethnicity rather than changing his sex. Was this a hint that EON’s had talks with the internet’s favorite pick Idris Elba to succeed Craig, then?

Who knows? All that’s set in stone right now is that Daniel Craig has at least one more adventure as 007 on his tab, which will be in the upcoming Bond 25 directed by Cary Fukunaga, arriving in February 2020.