The franchise will create new roles for women, but Bond will remain a man
The producers of the James Bond film series have said that whoever replaces Daniel Craig in the iconic role, it won't be a woman.
As members of the family who own the rights to Bond's cinematic outings, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have been working on the franchise since the 1970s.
They spoke out on the future of the films with Variety, as Daniel Craig gears up to leave 007 behind with the upcoming franchise entry No Time To Die.
Fan suggestions for who could take his place have included Idris Elba (Luther) and Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel), the latter of whom stars in the latest film as a covert MI6 agent.
In the extended interview, Broccoli revealed more about who they would consider for the coveted role.
She said: "He can be of any colour, but he is male. I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."
Notably, such a case has already occurred once in the James Bond franchise, when Judi Dench took on the role of M originally portrayed by Bernard Lee followed by Robert Brown.
No Time To Die is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective) and sees the return of Craig as Bond, Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ralph Fiennes as M, Lea Seydoux as Dr Madeleine Swann and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter.
New additions to the cast include Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), rumoured to be playing the film's villain, and Ana de Armas (Knives Out) as a CIA agent who helps Bond on his mission.
No Time To Die hits UK cinemas on 2nd April 2020.
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
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