‘I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles’
It’s one of the biggest questions in cinema at the moment: who will be the next Bond?
Ever since No Time to Die and – spoiler warning – the death of Daniel Craig’s 007 at the end, fans have been wondering who will take up the iconic role next.
Along with this, there’s been plenty of conversation and debate over whether the time is right for someone other than a white man to play the role.
There’s been a lot of chat about whether there could ever be a female 007 (although that has technically already happened), whilst black actors such as Idris Elba and Regé-Jean Page have been heavily linked with the role.
One person who has some pretty clear thinking on the matter though is Barbara Broccoli, the producer who has steered the James Bond franchise since 1995.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter in 2021, Broccoli made it clear that she sees James Bond as a character that will always be played by British men.
Broccoli argued that instead of shoehorning female actors into male roles, there should be a greater focus in the film industry of making “great roles for women.”
She told the publication: “I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond.
“I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles. I don’t think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women.”
Addressing the possibility of a person of colour taking on the role of Bond, Broccoli said that an actor of any ethnicity or race could play the role, just as long as they are British.
She said: “He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race].”
This isn’t the first time the producer has voiced this opinion.
Back in 2018, she told the Guardian: “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. We don’t have to turn male characters into women.”
She added that instead, filmmakers should “create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”
Fans shouldn’t expect a decision on the new Bond to be made any time soon though.
Last year, Broccoli said the Bond producers were still in the “early stages” of finding their next Bond.
And she seemed to dampen rumours linking 50-year-old Idris Elba to the role, suggesting that it may be too much of a commitment for him – because of his age.
“We love Idris. The thing is, [the casting decision] is going to be a couple of years off,” she said.
“And when we cast Bond, it’s a 10-12 year commitment. So he’s probably thinking, ‘do I really want that thing?’ Not everybody wants to do that.
“It’s not just about casting an actor for a film. It’s about a reinvention.”
Fellow producer Michael G Wilson, who has worked with Broccoli on all the Bond films since 1995’s GoldenEye, added: “It was hard enough getting [Daniel Craig to do it], and he was in his early 30s at the time!”
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