"James Bond is a male character!" 'No Time to die' producer Barbara Broccoli insists a woman won't portray the spy... and says she won't discuss Daniel Craig's replacement until 2022.
According to The Daily Mail, Bond producer has said she believes 007 will always be a male character.
The head of Eon Productions, who signs off on every key hiring and firing in the franchise, said she will be discussing who will take over the role from Daniel Craig next year - and that it will be a man.
"James Bond is a male character. I hope that there will be many, many films made with women, for women, by women, about women. I don't think we have to take a male character and have a woman portray him. So yes, I see him as male. She also admitted she hasn't faced the fact that current Bond Craig - who will not play the part any longer, following the latest film No Time To Die - is stepping down."
"I'm sort of in denial; I would love for Daniel to continue forever. So I'm not thinking about his replacement. That's something Michael G. Wilson, her half-brother and fellow producer and I will discuss next year," she added.
Asked if conversations about Craig's successor are imminent, she replied: "No. We want to celebrate the fantastic tenure of Daniel Craig, who's given everything to this character into this franchise for 15 years and it is really time to celebrate him."
No Time To Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga, the first American to direct a Bond film, said whoever replaces Craig will have a tough act to follow.
Asked if he would like to see more diversity in the character, he said: "That's a tough one. I don't actually have a strong opinion either way on that. I think it's going to be hard for anyone to follow in Daniel's footsteps because, for me, as much as I liked Pierce Brosnan, I was in my early 20s, and kind of checking out of the films a bit."
Craig, 53, told Radio Times last week that he also believes Bond should remain male. The actor said: "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?"
