James Bond Franchise Owners Address Character Ever Being Female

Bond fans are getting anxious to see the new film after the reveal of Billie Eilish as the musician to sing the title track for No Time To Die. Now, some of the brain trust behind the series is addressing the elephant in the room heading into this installment. There had been a ton of chatter around making the character female at some point to get a different feel for the adventures. But, Barbra Broccoli, overseer of the franchise with her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, isn’t going to indulge the parts of the Internet that would like to see such a thing happen. In a large sit-down with Variety, the two talked a lot about how big this installment feels and the emotions surrounding Daniel Craig‘s stint as the world-famous spy. When asked about the possibility of selecting a woman to step into Bond’s shoes, Broccoli was straight and to the point about her thoughts on the matter.

“He can be of any color, but he is male,” Broccoli stated. “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.”

So, for those keeping score at home, Idris Elba seems like an option that some people would have enjoyed seeing, and those comments don’t sound like an outright no. But, anyone who was waiting for a lady to pick up the mantle is going to be waiting a while. Unfortunately, this is how it goes with big franchises. People in charge get that final say no matter how loudly some people in the fandom might object.

Even still though, Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag and Killing Eve fame is writing the upcoming film. Lashana Lynch’s involvement had many suspecting that she would be Bond in this outing, but not quite. She’s a 007, and one that is none too keen on the swaggering aura of Craig’s super spy. But, this serves as the franchise taking steps toward modernity and there will be other changes. “Bond girls” are being elevated to “Bond women” for example, as a part of Waller-Bridge’s feminist script.

“Lashana is absolutely brilliant and Phoebe’s script is as sharp and funny as you would expect. This Bond pays tribute to some of the earlier films with a lot of humour.” A source from the Daily Mail shared about the upcoming film last year. “This is a Bond for the modern era who will appeal to a younger generation while sticking true to what we all expect in a Bond film,’ the source added. ‘There are spectacular chase sequences and fights, and Bond is still Bond but he’s having to learn to deal with the world of #MeToo.”

No Time to Die is expected to debut on April 10, 2020.