Yahoo Movies Could there ever be a female James Bond?
Gemma Arterton has said the public would find it 'too outrageous' if there was a female James Bond, but how likely is it? We look at the odds.
James Bond has a license to kill, at the box office anyway, which means that it is always a momentous occasion when the role is passed from one actor to another — but there have been questions raised for some time over whether or not 007 could, or should, be played by a woman.
Quantum of Solace star Gemma Arterton recently said that it would be "too outrageous" for the public if there was a female James Bond simply because it would be like "Mary Poppins being played by a man". She told The Times: "They talk about it, but I think people would find it too outrageous. Sometimes you just have to respect the tradition."
In a way, the actor is not wrong because even the prospect of this happening in the lead up to the release of No Time to Die led to huge uproar from a certain part of the public. That Lashana Lynch's spy Nomi was able to wear the 007 badge for a time in the movie was enough to make blood boil for fans of the franchise who felt it was sacrilege for such a thing to occur... in a fictional world.
So will it ever be possible for there to be a female James Bond? Let's look at the facts, shall we.
Does Barbara Broccoli want a female James Bond?
The decision of who becomes the next James Bond lies with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, who have steered the franchise for decades. It will be up to them whether or not the suave agent would be played by a woman, and Broccoli has shared her thoughts on the matter.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter back in 2021, she said: "I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond.
"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."
This was a sentiment felt by Daniel Craig, who was still playing the spy at the time, as he told Radio Times that year: "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?"
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When asked more recently about who should replace him as 007 the actor simply said "I don't care" which suggests he's well and truly over the franchise.
There's room for female spies who aren't James Bond
If there's one thing No Time to Die proved it's that it is possible to make characters that are enigmatic female spies in their own right. Ana de Armas' Paloma was a perfect example, she was funny, skilled and just as good as Bond himself. Lynch’s Nomi was also as capable and thrilling as him, regardless of the grumbling around her taking the 007 moniker the character proved a hit.
They were so well regarded that Broccoli shared plans for a spin-off centred on the spies in their own right, showing her determination to support female-led stories without making Bond a woman. There was also once talk of a spin-off movie for Halle Berry's Jinx from Die Another Day, in the end MGM pulled the plug on the project due to its proposed $80m budget which Variety reported Broccoli was unhappy about.
The point is valid, there should be more roles akin to Bond for women rather than a gender-bent version of the spy. Doing that would only fuel the worst parts of the franchise, and there’s enough space for more than one kind of spy.
Agatha Christie created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and both are capable detectives in their own right after all, the same is possible for the James Bond franchise.
And there have been some great female spies over the years anyway, Keira Knightley’s Helen in Black Doves being the most recent example but it extends back to Keeley Hawes in Spooks. Lynch even plays a memorable spy in The Day of the Jackal, so there is room for great female spies — Hollywood just needs to be more committed to them.
We won't know for a little while yet who will be the next Bond after Craig, but from the looks of things it will be another male actor to don the famous tuxedo.
