Ana de Armas sees “no need” for female James Bond
Universal PicturesAna de Armas has said there’s “no need” for a female James Bond as the franchise prepares for a new actor to take over the role.
The casting process around James Bond always inspires debate. Back when Daniel Craig was announced, the UK press honed in on his blond hair and supposedly “bland” charisma, even inspiring the launch of a website called DanielCraigisnotBond.com.
Of course, they were all proven wrong with Casino Royale. While there’s been ups (Skyfall) and downs (Quantum of Solace), the fandom seems pretty united in agreeing that Craig is one of the best Bonds ever – if not the best, overall.
His tenure reached its end with No Time to Die, and now the search is afoot for the next James Bond. Ana de Armas doesn’t have a specific choice, but she knows it shouldn’t be a woman.
Ana de Armas on a female James Bond: “There’s no need”
De Armas starred as CIA agent Paloma alongside Craig in No Time to Die. While only a brief appearance, helping Bond out of a Spectre party in Cuba, she attracted unanimous praise from critics and general moviegoers alike.
In an interview with The Sun ahead of the release of The Gray Man on Netflix, she was asked how she’d feel about a woman taking over as James Bond in the future.
Universal PicturesShe replied: “There’s no need for a female Bond. There shouldn’t be any need to steal someone else’s character, you know, to take over.
“This is a novel, and it leads into this James Bond world and this fantasy of that universe where he’s at.”
Ana de Armas calls for “substantial” roles for women in James Bond movies
Instead of backing a female Bond, De Armas said she hopes to see more “substantial” parts for women in the franchise’s future, not dissimilar to her scene-stealing role or Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, who also became 007 during No Time to Die.
She explained: “What I would like is that the female roles in the Bond films, even though Bond will continue to be a man, are brought to life in a different way… that they’re given a more substantial part and recognition. That’s what I think is more interesting than flipping things.”
Longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has been quite candid on the possibility of a female Bond: it’s not going to happen, certainly under her watch.
“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.”