While Hollywood seems more and more open to “genderbending” iconic characters, it seems that the James Bond franchise has no plans of making their super-spy a woman.
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Barbara Broccoli, the executive producer of the James Bond franchise and one of the key decision-makers of the franchise, recently talked to the Guardian about the possibility of Bond one day being played by a female actress.
“Bond is male,” Broccoli said. “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,” Broccoli added. “We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”
The James Bond franchise is far from a feminist franchise, since Bond is a notorious womanizer and the movies routinely kills off one or more women as a way to give Bond additional reason to pursue villains. However, Broccoli notes that the franchise has evolved as time and public opinion has progressed.
“Look at the way the world has changed,” Broccoli said. “And I think Bond has come through and transformed with the times. I’ve tried to do my part, and I think particularly with the Daniel [Craig] films, they’ve become much more current in terms of the way women are viewed.”
One of the biggest changes to the franchise was making Dame Judi Dench “M,” the head of MI5 and Bond’s direct superior. Dench became a hallmark of the franchise, appearing in eight movies, and her character and past was explored in the 2012 movie Skyfall. Several of the Bond movies used Dench’s M as a direct contrast to his womanizing ways and general attitude towards women, pointing out that she was one woman who Bond could neither seduce nor outwit.
Although Broccoli has no plans of making Bond a woman anytime soon, she does believe that the franchise will soon have a female director or screenwriter. “Yes, absolutely,” said Broccoli. “As a female producer, of course I’d like to do that.”
Meanwhile, the 25th (and so far untitled) Bond movie is gearing up for filming this December. Daniel Craig will return as Bond, while Cary Fukunaga will direct the film. Broccoli will return as executive producer. The movie is planned for release in 2020.
