Photo: Insider
Ana de Armas is not searching for a new James Bond, but she does have one stipulation – the next spy must not be female.
In an interview with The Sun, the 34-year-old actress said there’s no need for a female version of James Bond.
“There’s no need for a female Bond. There shouldn’t be any need to steal someone else’s character, you know, to take over. This is a novel, and it leads into this James Bond world and this fantasy of that universe where he’s at,” she said.
De Armas would like to see the spotlight given to already introduced female roles in the franchise instead of giving them the James Bond character.
“What I would like is that the female roles in the Bond films, even though Bond will continue to be a man, are brought to life in a different way,” she stated.
Then, she adds, “That they’re given more substantial part and recognition. That’s what I think is more interesting than flipping things.”
After Daniel Craig’s final performance as James Bond in No Time to Die, many people wondered who would take up the mantle of this iconic character.
Women Don’t Think 007 Should be a Woman
Many people feel it’s best if the role stays as is – a male.
The head of one famous spy franchise has reservations about a possible gender swap.
“Bond is male,” she said in a 2018 interview with The Guardian. “He’s a male character. He was written as a male, and I think he’ll probably stay as a male.”
“And that’s fine. We don’t have to turn male characters into women,” Broccoli continued. “Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”
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Not even a year later, Rosamund Pike, who played the character of Bond Girl in Die Another Day in 2002, voiced the same view.
“I think the character of James Bond is a man. He is really,” she stated. “Why not make a kick-ass female agent in her own right?”
Craig’s replacement will have to wait, as the series’ next installment won’t be in production soon enough. Last month, Broccoli said in an interview with Deadline that filming the latest movie was at least two years away, if not more. She added that “nobody’s in the running” for the role.
James Bond and his History
Ian Fleming, the man who would become famous for creating Bond in his novels and short stories, has already written twelve books and two short stories about 007. But after his death in 1964, eight other authors have taken over the Bond novels – don’t fret, they are authorized.
These writers come from the likes of Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Christopher Wood, Sebastian Faulks, Raymond Benson, William Boyd, Anthony Horowitz, and Jeffery Deaver.
The most recent novel starring the iconic spy, Forever and a Day, was written by Anthon Horowitz and was published in May 2018.
Additionally, Charlie Higson has authored a series featuring young James Bond, while Kate Westbrook authored three novels inspired by the diaries of a returning series character, Moneypenny.
The film series has garnered more than $7 billion, making it the fifth highest-grossing movie ever.
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