Barbara Broccoli Confirms That the New James Bond Must Be British and a Man

As soon as the credits rolled on No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's final bow as 007, Bond fans wondered who might take the mantle of the British super-spy next. Some have even wondered if the casting might stray from the white, straight, British, male mold set by Craig and his predecessors. Thanks to a new article from the Wall Street Journal, we know franchise steward Barbara Broccoli's views on the issue: she's flexible in some areas, but Bond is going to stay a male Brit for now.

According to the article, "Broccoli has told friends that she doesn’t have any qualms with casting a nonwhite or gay actor, but does believe Bond should always be played by a man, and should always be played by a Brit." Broccoli is the current steward, alongside her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, of Eon Productions, the production company behind the Bond series. She is the daughter of Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who founded Eon in 1961 to adapt Ian Fleming's James Bond spy novels into films; it has gone on to become one of the most successful film franchises in cinema history. Wilson's son, Gregg Wlison, has taken on a growing role at the company and the article notes that he "has appeared to be more sympathetic to calls for an update to Bond."

Where Were the Previous James Bonds From?

The six men to "officially" play Bond - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Craig - were of course all men, but whether they were all British is open to some debate. Moore and Craig were both born in England, while Dalton was born to English parents in Wales and moved to England as a child. Connery was Scottish, of course, and very proud of it. The notion of Britishness in Scotland is at times a thorny one, but Scotland is part of the British Isles, and remains part of the United Kingdom - although Connery himself was a vocal proponent of Scottish independence. Brosnan is Irish, and while Ireland is also considered to be part of the British Isles, he himself once stated "It amuses me in some respects that they should confuse me with an Englishman when I'm a dyed-in-the-wool, born and bred Irishman." Lazenby is the only Bond to not hail from any part of the British Isles; he was born and raised in Australia, moving to the UK as an adult where he became a successful model before starting his acting career. Of course, Lazenby also only made one movie as Bond.

The Wall Street Journal article also details the difficulties Eon has had making a new Bond movie with MGM's new corporate owners, Amazon. There is currently no new Bond movie in production, so fans may need to wait a while longer to see who is chosen as the next 007.

All twenty-five Bond movies are currently available to stream on Prime Video. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

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