‘I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays’: Well, we now know how open Jenna Ortega is to being ‘Jamie Bond’

The name’s Ortega. Jenna Ortega. And that’s a name that’s earning more and more clout in Tinseltown as each new high-profile project rolls in. The Wednesday star is easily one of Hollywood’s biggest rising stars, and after both Scream and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Ortega has already proven how she can liven up even the (un)deadest of franchises. But is becoming the first female James Bond on the cards?

After working with Tim Burton on her aforementioned smash-hit Netflix series, and then again on this Michael Keaton-starring legacy sequel, clearly Ortega is the master of the macabre’s latest muse. Maybe don’t expect her to keep on making new versions of the director’s back catalog, though, as the actress admitted she’s not too happy about the tendency for movie studios to make female-fronted reboots and spinoffs instead of simply making original stories starring women.

Jenna Ortega suggests there’s double-zero chance of her becoming the first female James Bond

MTV’s Josh Horowitz spoke with Ortega on the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice press circuit and quizzed her on whether she’d like to make an Edward Scissorhands sequel next, joking that it could be called “Edith Scissorhands.” As keen as ever to distance herself from any possible connection to Johnny Depp, however, the 21-year-old downplayed the idea, stressing that she no interest in simply doing an off-shoot of a male-dominated IP.

“I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays, I think that’s so special, but we should have our own. I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see like ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another badass.”

So, sorry anyone out there who exists in the Venn diagram of being a fan of both James Bond and Jenna Ortega, because “Jamie Bond” ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Ironically, Ortega seems to have the exact same opinion on this topic as Barbara Broccoli, producer of the 007 franchise, who has previously confirmed that she thinks it would be reductive to cast a woman as Daniel Craig’s replacement for Bond 26. “I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles,” Broccoli said, in 2021.

Still, depending on exactly how young the next Bond is, Ortega could always help to revitalize and reestablish the tired “Bond girl” stereotype as the next film’s female lead. Although it would probably have to have some unexpected horror leanings to appeal to the next-gen scream queen’s sensibilities. The Spy Who Scared Me? License to Kill Zombies? Dr. Nope? If Burton’s directing it, she’s definitely in.

Ortega’s upcoming projects include comedy-horror Death of a Unicorn and Taika Waititi’s sci-fi drama Klara and the Sun, alongside Amy Adams and Natasha Lyonne. Not to mention Wednesday season 2, which is currently shooting in Ireland. Bond 26, meanwhile, remains in flux but Kraven the Hunter‘s Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been linked to star. Just nobody ask Ortega if she’s going to take over his Sony franchise as Kravie the Hunter.