Daniel Craig Doesn't Think A Woman Should Play James Bond, And We Couldn't Agree More

Daniel Craig has addressed the decades-long debate as to whether a woman should be cast in the role of James Bond, insisting that ‘there should simply be better roles for women’.

Ahead of the release of the actor’s final 007 film, No Time To Die, which premieres at the Albert Hall next Tuesday, Craig noted that women ‘deserve their own parts that are just as good’.

'There should simply be better parts for women and actors of colour,’ he added in a print interview with the Radio Times.

'Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?'

We couldn’t agree more.

After all, writer Ian Fleming wrote a character who has, for too long, been lauded for his misogynistic behaviour and womanising. As Dame Judi Dench, who became the first woman to play Head of MI6's M in the film franchise, said of Bond in the film : ‘[He’s] a sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War, whose boorish charm [is] wasted on me.’

In light of the #MeToo several women involved in the Bond franchise have come forward to address the sexism in its films, including Die Another Day actor Halle Berry and producer Barbara Broccoli.

'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,’ stated Broccoli in 2019 during an interview on Good Morning Britain.

In the upcoming film, British actor Lashana Lynch will take over Bond's 007 status, which has resulted in speculation that the next Bond might be a woman.

She recently said of Bond's casting to the Guardian: 'With Bond, it could be a man or woman. They could be white, black, Asian, mixed race. They could be young or old. At the end of the day, even if a two-year-old was playing Bond, everyone would flock to the cinema to see what this two-year-old’s gonna do, no?'

Rumours of a female Bond coincided with writer and Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge joining the franchise’s writing team, making her the second woman ever to have a writing credit on the film, following Johanna Harwood on Dr No in 1962 and From Russia With Love in 1963.

‘The reality was I got a call from Barbara [Broccoli, the film’s producer] and Daniel saying, “We like your work, can you come in and help us?”,’ Waller-Bridge said of her participation in the writing process in 2019. ‘There wasn’t ever really a conversation about can you come in and help us with “the ladies”.

Days before the film’s premiere, footage of Craig delivering a farewell speech after finishing filming on his last ever Bond film circulated on social media.

‘A lot of people here have worked on five pictures with me,’ Craig can be heard saying to his colleagues in the clip.

‘I know there's a lot of things said about what I think about these films and all of... whatever, but I've loved every single second of these movies and especially this one, because I've got up every morning, and I've had the chance to work with you guys. And that has been one of the greatest honours of my life.’

The upcoming film, which will be released on September 30, stars Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux and Rami Malek.

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