The “No Time to Die” alum told The Sun that a woman should not play Bond in the franchise, billed by producer Barbara Broccoli as a “reinvention” for the famed character. “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,” de Armas explained. “This is a novel, and it leads into this James Bond world and this fantasy of that universe where he’s at.” She continued, “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.”
De Armas is set to star in the upcoming “John Wick” assassin spin-off “Ballerina,” reportedly written by Oscar winner Emerald Fennell. The “Blonde” actress also co-starred in Netflix’s “The Gray Man” with rumored Bond frontrunner Regé-Jean Page.
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De Armas’ comments directly agree with producer Broccoli’s past statements about Bond being a “male character” and how he will “stay as a male” in big screen adaptations.
“I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles,” Broccoli said in a past Hollywood Reporter profile. “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].”
Regardless, any news on who will be taking over as Bond is still undisclosed. Broccoli revealed the next film installment is at least two years away.
“Nobody’s in the running,” Broccoli said, staying mum during a BFI Fellowship dinner, via Deadline. “We’re working out where to go with him, we’re talking that through. There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time.”
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