Casino Royale's Eva Green Doesn't Think A Woman Needs To Be Cast As James Bond - Exclusive

After Daniel Craig wrapped up his tenure as famed fictional British superspy James Bond in 2021's "No Time To Die," of course the word on the lips of every Bond franchise fan was the obvious question: who will be the next James Bond? While Daniel Craig's tenure saw the excellent Latasha Lynch take on the mantle of 007, the fictional British intelligence designation most associated with the character James Bond, the constant recasting of the James Bond character has provoked some Bond fans to ask if the next iteration of the character itself should be cast as a woman. 

With that question on so many fans' lips, many former 007s and key figures in the franchise have weighed in. Former franchise producer Barbara Broccoli directly proclaimed that the next Bond would indeed be a man (via The Guardian), while recent Bond performer Daniel Craig suggested to Radio Times that what's needed isn't a woman playing Bond, but that "there should simply be better parts for women and actors of [color.]" Former Bond Pierce Brosnan, by contrast, told The Hollywood Reporter he thinks the prospect of a woman being cast as James Bond "would be exhilarating." 

In an exclusive interview with "Casino Royale" star Eva Green, the actress told Looper that the character James Bond should indeed be recast as a man and that changing the gender would be a fundamental shift for 007.

On the one hand, recasting James Bond would be a very modern move for a classic franchise. On the other hand, the character is canonically a man but the character just happens to have been regularly recast for the silver screen over the years — it may be a different actor, but the character is the same, making the question a complicated one. In the interview, Eva Green was asked if she thought the next James Bond should be cast as a woman. She told Looper, "Oh, no way. I think [it would be] another kind of franchise. Bond is a man, for me."

Green notes her awareness that the answer isn't very contemporary, at least she admits it indirectly. She clarifies "I know it's all the Me Too and the feminists and all this, fine," she explains in acknowledgment that there's a relevant upswing of the sentiment behind reinterpreting characters, and that upswing had pushed the discussion on Bond. Nonetheless, she reiterates "Bond has to be a man," explaining "otherwise, it's not [a] known. It would betray the soul of Bond, I feel."

With the character James Bond written and interpreted historically as a man, that's long been central to every aspect of the character. To Green, a change in that element would be an entirely different character, very much altering the character we know into one we don't. With Bond tentatively returning soon, the question of which actor will play the famed superspy is sure to surprise.