The James Bond franchise has been entertaining moviegoers for decades, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Fans around the world can’t wait to see Daniel Craig’s final bow as 007 in No Time to Die, and there have been countless theories about who might replace him in the property. And Craig recently explained why Bond doesn't need to necessarily be played by a woman.
The past five years have seen a major shift in conversations about representation in the media. And since Daniel Craig is winding down his tenure as 007, there has been discourse online about a possible female Bond. The Knives Out actor was recently asked this thoughts on the subject, saying:
The answer to that is very simple. There should simply be better parts for women and actors of colour. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?
Well, there you have it. It seems Daniel Craig thinks that systematically there needs to be more dynamic roles for women and people of color. So rather than seeing a gender-swapped take on James Bond, he’d instead prefer to see a similarly thrilling character written specifically for such an actor.
Daniel Craig’s comments to RadioTimes come as No Time to Die is finally gearing up to hit theaters. While discussing his final bow as 007 and his collaboration with writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, eventually he was asked about the possibility of the next Bond actor being a woman. And Craig certainly didn’t hold back his particular perspective on this prospect.
There have been countless discussions and theories about Daniel Craig’s James Bond, especially now that No Time to Die is finally going to hit theaters. There were some talks about the possibility of a female replacement, with recent Emmy winner Gillian Anderson putting her name into the ring. But it doesn’t look like Craig wants to see this seismic change happen to the legacy character.
While it remains to be seen how Eon Productions will continue the James Bond franchise following No Time to Die, the upcoming blockbuster will indeed see a female character take on the mantle of 007. Lashana Lynch’s new character Nomi will be Bond’s replacement after he seemingly retires from MI6. So the conversations about the franchise’s future are colliding with what’s happening in-universe.
Aside from Gillian Anderson (who probably wouldn’t qualify anyway since she’s American), a number of notable names have been thrown out as the potential next James Bond. Some of these choices include Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Sam Heughan, and Regé-Jean Page. Whoever ends up auditioning will go through a grueling physical assessment, so good luck to the actors actually being considered.
No Time to Die will hit theaters on October 8th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
