#James Bond Producer Barbara Broccoli Thinks Women Deserve Their Own Characters

If anyone has a say over who will ultimately play Bond, it’s Broccoli. She spoke to THR about her career, and talked about the casting:

“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. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race].”

Sounds like a no, though I do get what she’s saying. This is a hard one. Though I would love to see a woman Bond, I absolutely agree that we need to create more roles for women. I love that Bond could be any race or ethnicity. I’m also happy that the women in Bond films have gotten more agency over the years. 

One thing to think about here, though, is the fact that giving the role to someone other than a white guy means far more visibility for said person. I love fresh IPs, of course, and I’d love to see more new stories instead of rehashing things that are already out there. A spy franchise starring a woman would be wonderful, though it likely won’t get the visibility of a Bond film. I also adore the idea of seeing a woman acting in all the ways Bond traditionally does. That’s something many filmmakers might not risk with a new franchise and a woman as the star. I hope they do. Yes, I’m talking about all the casual sex, in case that wasn’t clear.