The idea of a female 007 just got a big endorsement from an actor who played James Bond four times. Pierce Brosnan said it is about time for a woman to take center stage in the beloved spy series. The next film, No Time to Die, is expected to introduce a female 007, but Daniel Craig is still the star of the show.
“Yes!” Brosnan said at the Deauville Film Festival when asked about a female Bond, reports The Hollywood Reporter. “I think we’ve watched the guys do it for the last 40 years, get out of the way, guys, and put a woman up there. I think it would be exhilarating, it would be exciting.”
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However, Brosnan said this was unlikely to happen, as long as EON Productions chiefs Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are at the helm of the franchise.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen with the Broccolis. I don’t think that is going to happen under their watch,” Brosnan said at the Deauville Film Festival.
Brosnan also endorsed making changes to the character in light of the #MeToo era.
“Without question, yes… The #MeToo movement has been relevant and significant and well needed in our society, so they’ll have to address that,” he added.
Brosnan went on to call playing Bond a major part of his career. He played Bond in GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002). Brosnan was the last actor to play the part before Craig took over in 2006’s franchise reset Casino Royale.
“James Bond has a certain significance and a deep pride. I will be asked about him until my dying days – it just goes with the territory. He’s a beloved character,” Brosnan explained. “I was honored to play the role and I rejuvenated a franchise that had been dormant.”
As No Time to Die is expected to be Craig’s final Bond movie, there has been increased media speculation about where EON Productions will take the franchise next. The new film will reportedly see Lynch as a MI6 spy who took over the 007 codename while Bond retired to Jamaica before M (Ralph Fiennes) brings him back for another mission. That new mission will involve helping his CIA friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright). Rami Malek plays the new villain.
“In No Time to Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica,” reads the official plot synopsis. “His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.”
The new film is still in production with Cary Fukunaga directing. The script was written by Fukunaga, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Scott Z. Burns and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Lea Seydoux and Billy Magnussen also star.
No Time to Die opens on April 3 in the U.K. and April 8 in the U.S.
Photo credit: Francois G. Durand/Getty Images
