'No Time To Die': Daniel Craig opens up about idea of having a female Bond

English actor Daniel Craig will be bidding adieu to the iconic character of James Bond after the fifth and final outing of the franchise titled No Time To Die in October this year. Since the announcement of the final instalment, fans have been curious about the fate of the character, which gave rise to numerous theories and speculations about who would step into the shoes of the 007 agent. After producer Barbara Broccoli, actor Lashana Lynch and more spoke their mind on the discussion, actor Daniel Craig has finally come forward with his opinions on the hotly discussed matter. 

Daniel Craig on female James Bond

With the release date of the film No Time To Die inching closer, the actor is busy promoting his film. During a chat with Radio Times, he opened up about his thoughts on the idea of a female James Bond and questioned if any female actor needed to essay the role at all. Not convinced with the idea of a female Bond, he remarked, ''There should simply be better parts for women and actors of colour. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?''. 

The actor's statement echoed with his producer Barbara Broccoli who told Variety in 2020 that ''James Bond can be of any colour, but he is male.'' She added, ''I believe we should be creating new characters for women – strong female characters, I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.'' 

Actor Lashana Lynch, who will essay the role of Nomi, an MI6 agent in the upcoming spy thriller believed, ''We are in a place in time where the industry is not just giving audiences what it thinks the audience wants. They're actually giving the audience what they want to give the audience.'' 

More on upcoming James Bond film

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, No Time To Die will continue the thrilling journey of Craig chasing a villain who has kidnapped a scientist. Touted as one of the longest-running James Bond films clocking in at a runtime of 2 hours and 43 minutes, the movie will also feature Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, and Ana de Armas. Delayed due to the pandemic on multiple occasions, the film is scheduled to be released in U.S. theatres on October 8.

Image: AP