As James Bond fans continue to debate who should take Daniel Craig's place after his final 007 film next year, Eva Green—who played Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale—has weighed in on the conversation. Last year, amid rumors that he was the top of the list to play the iconic spy, Idris Elba posed the question to Variety: “Are we interested in having a Bond character other than being a male? It could be a woman—could be a black woman, could be a white woman,” he said. “Do something different with it. Why not?” Which is an important conversation worth having! And his comment sparked a debate on social media about the possibility of a female 007. And this week, at the premiere for Dumbo, Green said that the character should always be played by a man.
“I’m for women, but I really think James Bond should remain a man. It doesn’t make sense for him to be a woman,” Green said. “Women can play different types of characters, be in action movies and be superheroes, but James Bond should always be a man and not be Jane Bond. There is history with the character that should continue. He should be played by a man.”
This is a similar argument that Rachel Weisz (who is married to Craig) made last year.
“Why not create your own story rather than jumping onto the shoulders and being compared to all those other male predecessors?" she said. "Women are really fascinating and interesting, and should get their own stories.”
Which is absolutely true—Charlize Theron's Atomic Blonde is a great example of that. And it seems that James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli agrees, having said pretty clearly last year that "Bond is a male. He is a male character. He was written as a male and I think He'll probably stay as a male."
But that doesn't mean the character shouldn't continue to evolve. Craig's version of Bond marked a more emotional, flawed, and human version of the character. And whoever is picked to play 007 next should continue to tell stories that we don't typically get in major Hollywood franchises, and especially in the world of Bond.
