James Bond producer rules out female 007

Broccoli said she believed in creating strong female characters, but added: "I'm not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."

This is the perfect statement. Make original characters, stop changing existing ones.

Nice to see some good sense shown!

Awesome news! And Broccoli's statement on it is pitch perfect!!

I love an awesome kick a-- female character!! And in the Bond movies there have been a few who were pretty awesome. Like Michelle Yeoh.

The whole point about Bond is that he's a "ladies' man." He goes after the pretty girl. Like it or lump it, that's his character.

He still said can be of any color.

Unfortunate to see political correctness potentially ruining a franchise. James Bond is Caucasian in the novel and should stay that way in the movies.

Unfortunate to see political correctness potentially ruining a franchise. James Bond is Caucasian in the novel and should stay that way in the movies.

I was wondering who would be the first to say this. Why does the colour matter? Apart from pleasing white conservatives, I don't think it does.

I have read some Bond and worked out that he must have been born in about 1910. Are you also going to demand a 110 year old actor plays the part to keep it faithful?

@oldman_13

Unfortunate to see political correctness potentially ruining a franchise. James Bond is Caucasian in the novel and should stay that way in the movies.

James Bond was never said to be white. At least not by Ian Flemming the creator. He merely says where Bond is from. Not once mentioning his race. The only original James Bond characters to ever have their race mentioned are Dr. No, Oddjob, and Kananga.

So is Lashana Lynch going to be a 007 agent just once in No Time To Die, to be killed off at the end of film?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dOevLbdmyI

@Elvis is here

A female 007 would have been most interesting

Actually the incumbent 007 agent of the next film "No Time To Die" is a black woman, not James Bond who is a retired MI6 agent looking to enjoy his retirement with his newly married wife until his past caught up with him.

People were under the assumption that Lashana Lynch would play the 007 agent from 25th film and onward after having replaced James Bond.

Unfortunate to see political correctness potentially ruining a franchise. James Bond is Caucasian in the novel and should stay that way in the movies.

To your argument. The Prince of Persia should not be blue eyed man. Neither should Moses or any of the other Egyptians and Egyptian gods. Neither should the Asian/Hawaiian girl from Aloha. Neither should the Dragon Ball or Ghost in the Shell movies.

JJ Jetplane.... James Bond is white... that is not a racist comment just a statement of fact. They could change and make him black, Indian or Chinese but it wouldn’t fit with the history of the franchise. Could still be a great movie but wouldn’t really be James Bond.

How about a remake of Shaft as a white lesbian?

JJ Jetplane

The Prince of Persia should not be blue eyed man.

Huh, some Persians have blue eyes and blonde hair. Persians aren't Arabs, but Caucasians.

Neither should the Dragon Ball or Ghost in the Shell movies.

Actually a caucasian casting for Kusanagi Motoko would have been the correct casting because Motoko used a caucasian sex worker shell in the canon material even though she was a 40 something middle aged Japanese woman. Hence the movie casting of Scarlett Johansson was ethnically correct, it was non-Manga fans who didn't understand the source material who got upset and started the boycott.

I’d watch it if Bond is Idris Elba, but no one else. I mean, he would be able to bring the necessary Britishness into the character.

I vote with both hands for Luke Evans. He is gay, but he has played straight character and has developed convincing chemistry with his female partners more than once. Meanwhile, it’ll be ok if Bond is gay- then his female partner would be regarded more as just as capable and strong agent as Bond himself, rather than the next accessory to his masculinity.

@Mr. Kipling

How about a remake of Shaft as a white lesbian?

I think it would be hilarious. Women are able to say things and make certain jokes that men can't necessarily say. I would probably enjoy the film.

I'm not caught up on fictional people being portrayed by other races or gender. Its fiction so it's open to the imagination. Now if Ronald Reagan was portrayed by black woman or Nelson Mandela was portrayed by a white woman that would be purely satirical and it wouldn't be a film that can be taken seriously.

Good. That's the last thing the already stale franchise needs.

I think every character in every movie should be a non-cis gender black Asian mix pansexual libertarian.

Elvis is here:

That's a shame. A female 007 would have been most interesting. Breathe new life into a worn characture.

Sure. Lets wait for a white female playing "Shaft". And Akebono as Cinderella? Lets have it for wokeness!

JJ Jetplane.... Actually you are correct. Shaft as a white lesbian would be a great movie!

What I don't understand is why does it have to be James Bond, 007? Why isn't somebody out there creating a whole new character? Or, maybe there is already a female / minority spy character or series out there and all it needs is the right person to bring it to the larger world. (I'm not familiar with the spy / espionage genre) Why would you just want to change an already existing character? That's just lazy.

I'm a big fan / researcher of hard-boiled detective fiction. The genre used to be dominated by by straight, white male characters: Race Williams, The Continental Op, Philip Marlowe, Lew Archer, Mike Hammer, Spenser...and white male writers. Then, something strange happened. Nobody started calling for a female Philip Marlowe (Phyllis Marlowe?) or a black Lew Archer. People took things in to their own hands. Sara Paretsky created V.I . Warshawski and Sue Grafton came up with Kinsey Milhone. Both strong, unique female characters who fit into and expanded the genre. Walter Mosely gave us Easy Rawlins. Not a black Philip Marlowe, but an original character who brought a much needed diversification to the genre. Alex Segura created Pete Fernandez (hispanic), George Pelacanos came up with Nick Stefanos (Greek-American). There are now hard-boiled series with Jewish, gay, autistic...you name it...detectives.

Why isn't this happening with Bond? Go out and create. The cliche is "Get out there and do something." Not, "Get out there and do something for me."

Also, I'm not British, but wouldn't a 007 from the sub-continent - India, Pakistan...be more subversive or inspiring (for lack of better terms) than a black or female one given Britain's colonial past?

No Samit Basu - She is not a '007' - she is a '00'. Some of which have appeared briefly or been mentioned in other movies over the years. Again - an unresearched and false statement from you.

007 is a causcasian male - always has been and always should be. However the franchise has changed over the years, it i still in the original spirit and vision of Ian Fleming. This is not about being diverse. This is who he is. It is up to the producers to make a good film after being supplied with a good screenplay.

If you want to create new characters and we have MANY good ones in this vein of all color/sex/religion then I strongly promote it. But don't mess with 007. That is pushing things a little too far.

I don't want a female 007 that solve problems just like the male 007, shoot/punch/kick first then explosion. A female 007 would solve problems silently, through trickeries and deceptions, which then may end up with giant explosion.

Ridiculous! Bond is a white heterosexual male. End of. Anything else just to be PC, I will not be taking a trip to the cinema to see the film.

007 is male end of story, thanks Barbara for setting the record straight!

@theResident

She is not a '007' - she is a '00'

https://www.allure.com/story/lashana-lynch-new-007-james-bond-25-details

Lashana Lynch Is Replacing James Bond as the New “Agent 007” in Bond 25, and Fans Are Losing It

According to an insider on the film, which is currently in the midst of shooting, this revelation comes early on in the movie, during a scene when Ralph Fiennes's character, M, says, "Come in, 007," and in walks Lynch.

There was actually that scene in the very first trailer and I remember seeing that "Come in, 007" clip, it was since removed.

Good! Enough with this PC nonsense.

A post-operation trans women as James Bond would be pretty interesting though. It would make the films a parody of itself , but pretty funny

If a black person played James Bond it would be terrible cultural appropriation.

Bond could be black, or female or gay. The character is British and only that. There are many Jenny Bonds in service.

Hmmmm, don’t reinvent the wheel, want to create a new character, go right ahead, but to to change out the Bond character to Black, Asian or a woman, you’d see the franchise pretty much go out of business.

Maybe it would behoove Hollywood screenwriters to think up decent roles for women, instead of retrofitting them where they don't fit.  

What's next? The Godmother? Betty Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Laura of Arabia? All the President's Women[....oh, wait]?

Made Millions with making news like this.

Few years later, it's time for money again. So there will be headline, Bond to be Asian.

Then again a year later, Bond won't be an Asian. Makes Millions again.

Make the normal people quarrel between each other, they make money and we become fools.

If a black person played James Bond it would be terrible cultural appropriation

Why?

A black Brit has the same cultural background as any other colour Brit.

That said, James Bond is a white male with an eye for the ladies, ie Sean Connery.

Anything else is make-do.

its in keeping with the original character, its not really a discrimination or gender issue. If the original Batman was written as white and male, then following characters who were not white or male would upset or change the characters originality and image. I mean, thats the storyline or how the character was written. Its like common sense. It was not written or created to specifically exclude or cause suffering to anybody. Any later claimed suffering is all imaginary.

Sure. Lets wait for a white female playing "Shaft". And Akebono as Cinderella? Lets have it for wokeness!

Bond's sex is utterly central to his character. His race isn't. Shaft's race is utterly central to his character, so your comparison is not appropriate.

As I'm sure you know, James Bond is half Scottish half Swiss and born in about 1910. Yes, in that era it is extremely unlikely that anyone with that background would be anything but white, but Bond is no longer a late 1940s spy, but someone born in about 1980 in Britain. It is far more likely that he could be black or Asian.

I don't know why people find this so hard to deal with.

Since the original creators were clearly "racist homophobic and misogynist", we should just ditch 007 all together and create a more 2020 socially acceptable PC climate oriented movie.

Ridiculous but, many would like this with everything today.

Leave things in their original context and if not appropriate make a movie that is suitable for other audiences, no need to re write history.

007 is James Bond. James is a male name. There can be no female 007.

Btw, 007 stands for two balls and a stick...ergo a male character.

Yeah? The stick sure is bent :D

If a black person played James Bond it would be terrible cultural appropriation

cleo: Why? A black Brit has the same cultural background as any other colour Brit.

That said, James Bond is a white male with an eye for the ladies, ie Sean Connery.

Anything else is make-do.

Nothing wrong with a black guy playing James Bond. Asian or any other race too.

Sean Connery was good, but I dare say Roger Moore was the most debonair 007.

I'm the first to give you a thumbs-up on your comment cleo, remember that :D

Asian guy playing James Bond would have to be Jeimezu Bondo, no?

Why?

So then Abraham Lincoln should be portrayed by a White guy?

A black Brit has the same cultural background as any other colour Brit.

No one is disputing that, then how about making a new character with a black Brit?

That said, James Bond is a white male with an eye for the ladies, ie Sean Connery.

Anything else is make-do

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel in order to satisfy the woke PC crowd.

What a ridiculous discussion thread!

@Bugle Boy Of Company B

Asian guy playing James Bond would have to be Jeimezu Bondo, no?

Nope, he would be named James Bond, a British Chinese speaking perfect English in British accent.

In fact, Henry Golding is one of top three candidates being considered.

It's about time we had a proper northerner as Bond instead of these effete fizzy martini shandy drinking southern buggers.

In fact, Henry Golding is one of top three candidates being considered.

Dev Patel might fit the role too.

I really don't care if Bond is another colour, just needs to be British, about forty and cool. There is nothing about the character that needs to be white and I'm not being "woke" about it, I just tiny care.

As I stated in my first post on this topic, that attracted a lot of votes, the literary Bond was born in about 1910. No one is demanding a 110 year old actor play the actor.

James Bond is a black trans lesbian. Read the original books.

I think every character in every movie should be a non-cis gender black Asian mix pansexual libertarian.

Agree except for the libertarian part. Those perverts aren’t welcome.

A black Brit has the same cultural background as any other colour Brit.

Who are you to speak for people of colour?

They may consider that they have a very different cultural background.

It's very arrogant and presumptious to assume that you can assign cultural backgrounds to people of other ethnicities.

Especially given that you are speaking as a white priveleged female.

@Samit Basu:

Sir - Henry Golding is a rank 20-1 outsider. I will happily lay those odds for you. Media speculation. in a era of "wokeness"

It's very arrogant and presumptious to assume that you can assign cultural backgrounds to people of other ethnicities.

It's racist to assume that people are 'different' just because their skin happens to be a different colour.

Especially given that you are speaking as a white priveleged female.

I agree that I am indeed white, comparatively privileged, and female.

What that has to do with commenting on UK culture escapes me.

Unless you're assuming that I am infested with a particular set of cultural prejudices that are all to do with the colour of my skin, rather than the colour of my heart?

Well said Cleo - and I'll gove you 20-1 (in jest) that Rizdown doesn't have a sensible reply to you - But is just bitter and wants to jump on the '"woke" bandwagon and does that because YOU are white, heterosexual and are probably quite central politically ( reading your comments over the years) - that you are no longer entitled to a view. If you are a Times (UK) reader you might want to what Laurence Foz had to say at the weekend.

It's racist to assume that people are 'different' just because their skin happens to be a different colour.

It's racist to assume that people have the same cultural background as you.

Maybe they feel they do, maybe they feel they don't.

If they don't, that of course is fine.

I want to hear from people of colour what they feel their cultural background is... not have it presumptiously assigned to them by a white priveleged female.

BertieWoosterJan. 18 09:09 am JSTThe whole point about Bond is that he's a "ladies' man." He goes after the pretty girl. Like it or lump it, that's his character.

The whole series is meant to be a spoof of certain caricatures and stereotypes. Many women I knew in college knew this, GFs of mine known this, my little sister knows this. It's a spoof. When 'GoldenEye' came out in 1995 with a new 'M' who was female who chastised 007 for being 'a pig' that's when I quit watching the newer flicks because the PC Police were taking over and taking the fun and thrill of it all away. 

People take things much too seriously on things like this and yet in real life America kowtows to the real ill-mannered 'pigs' who are commit criminal activity everyday and get away with it. Disgusting.