James Bond movie producer Barbara Broccoli has provided an update on the search for the next actor to play James Bond. Speaking to Variety, Broccoli said fans shouldn’t expect an announcement soon about who will take over for Daniel Craig.
“It’s going to take some time” before the next actor to play the role is announced, Broccoli said. “It’s a big decision.”
Broccoli went on to say that it’s not “just a casting role,” but the decision involves a “whole rethink about where we’re going.”
Craig’s time as James Bond marked a change for the series, focusing more on grounded action and less on gadgets and the relative silliness of earlier Bond films. It’ll be interesting to see how the series continues to grow and evolve in the future.
The next James Bond actor will have a lot to live up to. Broccoli sung Craig’s praises, saying he is “just the greatest actor ever.”
Actors like Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, and Tom Hardy have been “whispered” for the role of James Bond, the report said, but nothing is locked down yet. Lashana Lynch played 007 in No Time to Die when her character took over Bond’s title while he was away.
Before this, Broccoli said she believes the next Bond will be a British man of any ethnicity or race, but probably not a woman. “I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “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].”
This lines up closely with what Craig himself has said about the future of the series. Craig said in an interview that he is not on board with the idea of a woman playing James Bond, but commented that women and people of color should get other roles of a similar stature.
“The answer to that is very simple,” he told Radio Times. “There should simply be better parts for women and actors of color. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
Craig played Bond five times, including Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021). That’s two Bond films short of the record for most by one actor, which is seven from Roger Moore.
Outside of the films, Hitman developer IO Interactive is developing a new James Bond game that tells an origin story for the British spy.