Should Bond 26 Be Female?

As Daniel Craig’s turn as world famous super-spy James Bond drew to a close in 2021’s No Time To Die, the question in everyone’s mind was “Who will succeed Craig as 007?” Many people believe that the right choice was to keep Lashana Lynch’s character Nomi as 007 and rocket the Bond franchise into the 21st century. But, others believe that 007 should remain a male. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of a female James Bond.

Pros

Historically, Bond films haven’t been progressive with their portrayal of women. Starting all the way back with 1962’s Dr. No, the leading lady was treated as a sex object. I think the best description of this era of Bond is best described by Judi Dench’s M in 1995’s Goldeneye, in which she calls 007 a “Misogynist dinosaur,” and “A relic of the cold war.” So, following up previous portrayals of women in Bond with a progressive, strong, female role-model by having the main character be a strong woman would be awesome. Also, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, the media has become sick of “toxic masculinity,” so there will be significant backlash if they don’t. 

Cons

James Bond started out as a literary character in Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel Casino Royale. Some argue that Bond has been a male for almost 70 years, and changing it just because people want it would taint Fleming’s vision for the character. Also, “Haven’t most female reboots of popular franchises been absolute failures?” female bond haters would say. 2016’s Ghostbusters: Answer The Call is almost universally hated in the Ghostbusters fandom. And the recent 13th Doctor on BBC’s Doctor Who has been one of the lowest rated Doctors in recent history.” “Purist” Bond fans don’t want this to happen to the series.

I think that whichever way they go in the franchise, they will still make money. Which, admittedly, is what Hollywood is all about nowadays. Just because they’re going to lose a few fans that don’t want to see their overly inflated egos squished by a fictional character becoming a female won’t turn them off from making more.  After all, why not? Why shouldn’t 007 be a woman? If they don’t have Lynch reprise her No Time To Die role, then they should consider actresses like Keira Knightly or Hayley Atwell. All in all, I think that a recast of male James Bond would be a great change of scenery for the old, misogynistic way of making Bond films.