James Bond seems to have found himself the subject of much debate, recently. With Daniel Craig showing his disinterest in continuing the character post-“Spectre,” going as far as saying he’d rather slash his wrists than play the character again, fans have been throwing around their picks for who should replace the actor as the legendary spy. Alas, Craig has since backpedaled on those comments, and signed up for one last Bond film, scheduled for 2019. However, that hasn’t stopped the debate.
Many fans are hoping that whoever replaces Craig breaks the typical white male mold. Actors such as Idris Elba have been named as worthy new hires with a license to kill. But there’s also talk of wanting the producers to go a step further with their James Bond replacement, perhaps with a woman taking over the classically male role.
Don’t count actress Rachel Weisz as one of those people interested in a female Bond. Weisz feels that there’s no place for a woman as Bond, considering his literary and film history. Speaking to The Telegraph, Weisz said, “[Author Ian Fleming] devoted an awful lot of time to writing this particular character, who is particularly male and relates in a particular way to women. Why not create your own story rather than jumping on to the shoulders and being compared to all those other male predecessors? Women are really fascinating and interesting and should get their own stories.”
First, it should be noted that Weisz does have a horse in this race, so to speak. Since 2011, she has had the privilege of being Mrs. Bond, married to none other than Daniel Craig. Does this relationship have any sort of influence on her comment? Maybe, maybe not. The comments do, however, strike up yet another debate that is very much bigger than James Bond.
Should established franchises become more diverse, or should women, people of color, and other groups get brand-new films and franchises? “Doctor Who” is an example of a long-running franchise that recently decided to make their newest Doctor a woman, a first for the series. But then you have potential franchises like the upcoming “Red Sparrow,” or last year’s “Atomic Blonde,” which introduce new female characters that could take the place of a James Bond or Jason Bourne.
For better or worse, this is a discussion that has no end in sight. Talk of Craig’s replacement won’t really begin until after 2019, when the untitled “Spectre” follow-up is released. And right now, the studio has bigger fish to fry, namely hiring a director and getting a script finished. [via The Independent]
