Daniel Craig has promised that he’ll be showing off more skin in No Time to Die than his female co-stars. The James Bond franchise might be one of the most popular film brands in the world, but it’s also come under a lot of fire for its long history of sexism regarding how its female characters—traditionally called Bond Girls—are depicted. But, to be fair, the Craig era movies have always tried to address that, and it seems the actor’s last will be no different.
While speaking to Radio Times (via The Guardian), Craig revealed that, in No Time to Die, he’s “more naked than the women. I’ve designed it that way.”
This inversion of the usual tropes of the series started with the star’s 007 debut in Casino Royale, which recreated Ursula Andress’ famous bikini scene from Dr. No but with Craig rising from the sea in nothing but swimming trunks. Later films have fallen back on the old ways a little, though, so it’s encouraging to hear Craig was keen to return to what Casino Royale got right with NTTD.
It has been well-documented that the Knives Out actor was a big proponent for increasing the importance of the female cast this time around, as it was Craig who hired Killing Eve‘s Phoebe Waller-Bridge to come in and rewrite the script, with a particular emphasis on improving the dialogue and bolstering the roles of the female characters.
There are four prominent women in this movie. Namely, returning characters Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) and two new ones – agents Nomi (Lashana Lynch) and Paloma (Ana de Armas). Given this, it’s no surprise that Craig isn’t a fan of the concept of a female James Bond. Instead, he thinks more original roles that are “just as good” should be created for women instead.
No Time to Die finally arrives in US theaters on October 6th, after premiering in the UK on September 30th.
