Barbie director says Marvel star should be next James Bond

Gerwig said that she gave Ben-Adir the direction to "ascend the throne" during his scene where he addresses the crowd at the film's end, and said that he immediately understood the assignment.

Gerwig explained: "Everybody’s jaws dropped. I was like, 'get this footage to whoever is making James Bond immediately'."

While we don't yet know the state of the casting process for the new Bond, it certainly seems as though we're a way off from seeing the film, based on comments made by franchise chief Barbara Broccoli.

Broccoli said recently that she and her fellow producers "haven’t even begun" the process of modernising Bond for the 26th film, and that there is "a big road ahead" as they ensure that the character is "reinvented for the next chapter".

It's been reported that the next film could be directed by Christopher Nolan, who has certainly expressed interest in giving his own spin on the iconic property.

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He said: "The influence of those movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. So there's no attempt to shy away from that. I love the films, it would be an amazing privilege to do one. At the same time, when you take on a character like that you’re working within a particular set of constraints.

"And so you have to have the right attitude towards that, it has to be the right moment in your creative life where you can express what you want to express and really burrow into something within the appropriate constraints, because you would never want to take on something like that and do it wrong."

James Bond films including No Time to Die, Casino Royale and many more are available to rent or buy on Prime Video. Sign up for a 30-day free trial and pay £8.99 per month after that.

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