James Bond Producer Says Bond Will Not Be Female
In time for the premier of the first female-led 'Doctor Who' tomorrow, the producer of the James Bond movies spoke on the potential of gender-swapping 007.
The gender-swapping of characters has been a hot button issue in the media for several years now, with fans decrying an all-female 'Ghostbusters' reboot, to most recently with the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor on 'Doctor Who'. The question of a female 007 isn't a new one, as Gillian Anderson expressed interest in being Daniel Craig's replacement. However, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has put her foot down that Bond is, and will continue to be, male. According to The Guardian, Broccoli stated,
Bond is male. He’s a male character. He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male.
And that’s fine. We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.
Last December, Broccoli said anything is possible with the future of the Bond franchise, which was taken to mean there was the chance for a female Bond, but Broccoli's new statements speak directly against such a situation. However, she did say that Bond's attitude towards women has changed accordingly with the times,
It was written in the 50s, so there’s certain things in [Bond’s] DNA that are probably not gonna change.
But look at the way the world has changed. And I think Bond has come through and transformed with the times. I’ve tried to do my part, and I think particularly with the Daniel [Craig] films, they’ve become much more current in terms of the way women are viewed.
58-year-old Broccoli's entire adult life has been about the Bond series, beginning at the age of 17 as a member of publicity department on 'The Spy Who Loved Me'. She moved up to the role of Assistant Director for Roger Moore's final two films, and acted as an Associate Producer for Timothy Dalton's two films as Bond. In 1995, her father, Albert R. Broccoli, turned over control of EON Productions to Barbara and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, and the two have been in complete control of the Bond series since 'Goldeneye'.
Barbara's control over the franchise and presence on set has been praised as a reason for the hyper-masculine franchise being a safe environment for women on-set,
I was allowed to – encouraged to – grow within the company and felt very supported by my father and my brother, Michael. So I always said what I thought if I didn’t like something.
I’m acutely aware of what actors have to go through. They have to expose the most vulnerable parts of themselves. I think you have to create an environment where people feel free to experiment and not be ridiculed.