Jenna Ortega perfectly explains why female James Bond is a bad idea

Jenna Ortega has taken a firm negative stance when it comes to the discourse surrounding gender-flipping iconic movie characters.

The idea of taking a well-known movie and changing the gender of its cast isn’t a new concept, most notably with 2016’s Ghostbusters.

However, this type of new movie usually gets a lot of heat from viewers who believe female actors should have the chance to play original characters in new franchises instead of being shoved into existing ones.

One of these detractors is Jenna Ortega, who, when asked if she would appear in a gender-swapped version of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, told MTV, “I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays, I think that’s so special. But we should have our own.”

She continued, “I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see like ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another badass.”

The idea of a female James Bond has always been on the table even before the film adaptations of Ian Fleming’s beloved book series began.

In Nicholas Shakespeare’s upcoming biography of Fleming, it was revealed that producer Gregory Ratoff had imagined a woman playing the role of the titular spy after both 1965’s Thunderball and 1967’s Casino Royale received poor reviews.

Ratoff had considered casting Oscar-winning actress Susan Hayward as Bond but ultimately stuck with the status quo after meeting Sean Connery, who held the role from 1962 to 1983.

The discourse of a female Bond was brought up once again after Daniel Craig announced he would be exiting the franchise after playing Bond for 15 years. Fans also floated the idea of a person of color taking up the mantle for the first time in the movies’ history.

Sony Pictures

However, while Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli is open to the possibility of a Black James Bond, she has no intention of casting a woman in the role in the foreseeable future.

“I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond,” Broccoli told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about who should replace Craig. “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].”

For more, check out guides to the best movies of 2024 so far and all of the movies streaming in September. You can also keep up with the best TV shows streaming this month.