The idea has been dismissed as a “gimmick” by franchise producer Barbara Broccoli.
James Bond has been both an enduring character and franchise staple for many years now.
Having first arrived via the pen of Ian Fleming in 1953, the suave secret agent has come into his own in various other mediums right up til present day.
Though we’re always here for a ‘GoldenEye on the N64 might be the best video game ever’ debate, it’s fair to say that the cinematic version of 007 is the most popular.
To wit, we’re getting Bond 25 pretty soon, with Daniel Craig playing the title role for what is expected to be the final time.
Which is a shame in one respect, as Craig has been pretty flawless since taking up the tuxedo mantle in 2006’s Casino Royale, even if the material hasn’t always matched his endeavour.
As for who will follow in his footsteps, the latest odds have Tom Hiddleston at the top, with Cillian Murphy racing closely behind.
The one thing that Bond has in common with the actors who have portrayed him until now – Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig – is that he has always been a white man.
Indeed, some of the character’s early antics are downright questionable these days, and there have been calls to introduce some diversity to the iconic figure.
Idris Elba is a name that has been often thrown around, though he was dismissed as being “too street” by Bond author Anthony Horowitz, which understandably pissed many people off.
Elba laughed that off, and would later intimate that he’s too old for the role, and appears to have sidestepped any potential campaigning for it.
The other argument that comes up – ‘Why can’t Bond be a woman?’ – continues to rage, though some serious cold water has been poured on that one by longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.
Speaking with Good Morning Britain following the launch of the not-yet-titled new Bond adventure, Broccoli dismissed the idea of a female Bond as a “gimmick”.
“I always feel that Bond is a male character,” she said. “That is just a fact.”
“We have to make movies about women and women’s stories but we have to create female characters and not just for a gimmick turn a male character into a woman, ” Broccoli continued.
Given that the producer essentially holds the keys to the Bond movie kingdom, you can expect things to continue very much as they have been for some time.
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