Barbara Broccoli, who controls the spy film franchise with her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, doesn't think a woman should play James Bond, but believes 'in making characters for women.'
- Dec 8, 2021
AceShowbiz - Bond boss Barbara Broccoli has dropped hints about what kind of an actor who will be stepping into Daniel Craig's shoes as the next 007 agent. With the "Knives Out" star having confirmed that "No Time to Die" will mark the end of his tenure as the fictional British spy, some fans are calling for a black Bond or a female 007.
In a new profile piece by The Hollywood Reporter, Broccoli weighed in on the possibility of recasting the role with the said changes. While she is open to having a British male Bond of "any" ethnicity or race, she is not into having a female 007.
"I think it will be a man because I don't think a woman should play James Bond," the producer responded to the question. She explained, "I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men's roles. I don't think there are enough great roles for women, and it's very important to me that we make movies for women about women. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race]."
However, Broccoli, who controls the film franchise with her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, had little interest in discussing Craig's successor and wanted to focus on savoring the "No Time to Die" star's final performance as the 007 agent. "I want to let this film play and really celebrate Daniel's incredible achievement that he has done over 16 years," she said. "People always ask, 'Oh, who's the next James Bond?' It's like asking a bride as she's going up to the altar who's her next husband going to be. I don't really want to think about who is going to be the next person until I absolutely have to."
Meanwhile, Broccoli knows who she would like to hire again for the next installment. "We love Cary. He's done an exceptional job," she said, referring to "No Time to Die" director Cary Fukunaga. "I don't have any idea whether he'd do another one. I think he did this because he wanted a challenge, and he sure pulled it off. But I'm not sure if he'd do another one. We'd love to work with him again."
Fukunaga, in his part, sang praise for Broccoli. "I've never worked with producers that were so creatively involved," he said. "But I also knew that going into it, I knew this is their baby. So I came into it very much with the perspective of how can I do my part to try to make this a good film. From the very beginning, we would sit at this round table at the Eon offices on Piccadilly, and Barbara would be getting coffees and teas and food and making sure everyone was fed and at the same time is completely running the meetings with 17 ideas thrown up against the wall."
Speaking of the franchise's longevity, Broccoli shared, "I think one of the successes of Bond is that it hasn't been afraid to change with the times." She admitted, "Sometimes it got a little stuck in the time, but the books were written in the '50s, the films started in '60s. I mean, the world has changed dramatically since then. We've just had to constantly reinvent him, and we’ve had the opportunity with each new actor to recalibrate the series."
With the talks of MGM's acquisition by Amazon currently ongoing, Broccoli stressed that at least one thing will never change in the franchise is the leadership. "Michael and I are very protective of [Bond]," she assured. "My father used to say, 'Don't have temporary people make permanent decisions,' and I think that's always been at the forefront of our minds. Studios can have tremendous turnover, and over the years we've had lots and lots of different people. So we've had to kind of maintain a consistency of leadership in order to keep an eye on the longevity of the franchise."
"No Time to Die" opened on October 8 in the United States and has grossed $765 million worldwide, making it the biggest box office earner of the pandemic era so far.
