Should a woman play James Bond? Yes, say two ex-007s; no, says executive producer Barbara Broccoli at Toronto Film Festival
- Women in Bond films so far have either been love interests or femmes fatales (who are also love interests)
- Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan have both supported women taking the lead role
The James Bond franchise’s less than progressive portrayals of women, who are often relegated to the role of love interests and femmes fatales, have for years led a faction of fans to clamour for a woman (or really, anyone who is not a white man) to take over the part.
And now, two James Bonds are saying it’s time for a casting shake-up. In separate interviews at two film festivals this weekend, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig endorsed the idea of a woman taking the lead role.
Today’s reigning Bond, Craig, told Variety that “of course” the iconic spy could be played by a woman in the future. Craig made his remarks while promoting the Agatha Christie-style murder mystery Knives Out at the Toronto International Film Festival, and jokingly endorsed his co-star Jamie Lee Curtis for the role.
At the Deauville American Film Festival in France, former 007 Pierce Brosnan wholeheartedly endorsed the idea of a woman playing Bond to The Hollywood Reporter.
He’s a male character. He was written as a male, and I think he’ll probably stay as a male
“I think we’ve watched the guys do it for the last 40 years, get out of the way, guys, and put a woman up there,” said Brosnan, who played the super spy in four films: The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, GoldenEye and Die Another Day. “I think it would be exhilarating, it would be exciting.”