There’s a lot of James Bond discussion right now. Obviously, the main reason is that, after a long delay, Daniel Craig’s last jaunt as 007, “No Time to Die,” is hitting theaters in a matter of weeks. With that, another era of Bond comes to an end. And director Cary Fukunaga thinks this era of James Bond showed the character go through a bit of a change, especially in relation to the treatment of females in the franchise, which was something that was desperately needed after earlier iterations including Sean Connery’s films as the superspy.
Speaking to THR, Fukunaga talked about the care and consideration that went into making sure the female characters were treated well in “No Time to Die.” And as a contrast, he talked about Sean Connery’s run as 007 and how women were treated poorly in those films.
“Is it ‘Thunderball‘ or ‘Goldfinger‘ where, like, basically Sean Connery’s character rapes a woman?” Fukunaga said. “She’s like ‘No, no, no,’ and he’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ That wouldn’t fly today.”
We’ve heard from many people associated with the James Bond franchise over the years that the character is this sort of hyper-masculine playboy spy, and that’s why he was written as a suave ladies’ man. This is used as a reason why a female version of James Bond wouldn’t really work. Well, Fukunaga clearly understands that 2021 James Bond can’t do what ‘60s Bond did in those earlier films. And to help with bringing a female perspective to “No Time to Die,” writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge was brought in to take a crack at the script.
Fukunaga also admits that change for 007 can’t come overnight. But he thinks “No Time to Die” is a step in the right direction.
“You can’t change Bond overnight into a different person,” the filmmaker said. “But you can definitely change the world around him and the way he has to function in that world. It’s a story about a white man as a spy in this world, but you have to be willing to lean in and do the work to make the female characters more than just contrivances.”
Will the Daniel Craig era of James Bond be known for its progressive treatment of female characters? Will the next iteration of the franchise push those notions even further? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, you can watch “No Time to Die” in theaters on October 8.
