Entertainment
Do You Want to See a Woman Play James Bond?
Do You Want to See a Woman Play James Bond?
Here’s The Scoop
Hollywood star Jenna Ortega is making waves with her recent comments about the state of female roles in Hollywood, and she’s hitting the nail on the head for many who are tired of the industry’s forced gender swaps.
In an interview with MTV about her upcoming movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the 21-year-old actress voiced her opposition to the idea of simply swapping women into traditionally male roles, like a hypothetical “Jamie Bond.”
“I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays, I think that’s so special, but we should have our own,” Ortega stated. “I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see, like, ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another bada**.”
Ortega’s comments align with those of “James Bond” producer Barbara Broccoli, who has been a staunch advocate for keeping the iconic spy character male.
Broccoli has previously said, “I think [the next James Bond] will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond. I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles.”
This perspective is a breath of fresh air in an industry that often appears more interested in virtue signaling than creating original, compelling female characters.
Broccoli added, “I don’t think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women.”
Ana de Armas, known for her role in “Knives Out” and as a former “Bond girl,” echoed similar sentiments. In a 2022 interview with The Sun, de Armas dismissed the idea of a “female Bond” as unnecessary.
“There’s no need for a female Bond,” she said. “There shouldn’t be any need to steal someone else’s character, you know, to take over. This is a novel, and it leads into this James Bond world and this fantasy of that universe where he’s at.”
De Armas went on to emphasize the importance of substantial female roles within the Bond films, rather than simply flipping genders.
“What I would like is that the female roles in the Bond films, even though Bond will continue to be a man, are brought to life in a different way,” she explained. “That they’re given a more substantial part and recognition. That’s what I think is more interesting than flipping things.”
Ortega, Broccoli, and de Armas are all advocating for a Hollywood that values originality and respects the source material, rather than one that panders to fleeting trends. Their voices are a call to action for the industry to create new, strong female characters who can stand on their own, rather than relying on the legacy of male counterparts.
What do you think? Let us know by participating in our poll, or join the discussion in the comment section below!
victor engel
September 10, 2024 at 8:15 am
I have been watching Bond movies since 1967.(movies at the cinema) Ofcource since I have a VCR/DVD player I enjoy all of the Bond movies. But it seams like the more they come out with the better they become.I know most people would say that Connery was the best, but I tend to think the movies starring Craig are the best because the action ,in my opinion is more believable.But all in all I and my wife enjoy all the Bond movies. The first one We saw was Thunderball, which was right before I got my draft notice in 1968. Spent two years in the US Army and after I was honory discharged we continued watching James Bond.
Grant Jackson
September 10, 2024 at 10:22 am
Why do you have to replace James Bond with a woman. Are they not good enough to start their own action-spy movie introducing their own character? A lot of the Bond movies starred a criminal woman or at least one who was originally on the side of the bad guy. Why not a Jane Lipshit’s spy who can do most of the Bond stuff in a new way?
Sel
September 29, 2024 at 8:29 am
Sooooo very true/smart THANK YOU
susabella
September 10, 2024 at 11:41 am
Call me old fashioned, but I want women to be women and men to be men.
violet
September 15, 2024 at 2:01 pm
No one is saying men not play men and women not play women.. I say women are just as great of being a spy as men are. In fact women can be more of a spy in some cases.
Jerry C.
September 10, 2024 at 6:07 pm
Gender-swapping, like race-swapping, does more of a disservice to to those being swapped-in by clearly telling everyone that these people are not important enough for the industry to create new roles & material for them, instead taking the lazy route of co-opting existing roles/material. Every time they do it they just anger their traditional audiences. Sure, they may gain a few vocal SJWs (that probably would’ve still gone to see the film had it been properly cast but not talked about it) but lose more than they gain. Ian Fleming based the James Bond character on himself & others he knew in the “game”. They were all White men and so was the character he created. If for no other reason than to respect the creator, they should stop playing games with his creation.
JMK
September 10, 2024 at 9:35 pm
I’m sick of Hollywood wokesters substituting LGBTQ-types, non-whites. and women for characters who were traditionally straight white men. Why must they turn off half their audience? Instead, they can create new similar characters of their preferred sexual orientation, race, or sex.
cjrudi2024
November 21, 2024 at 7:39 am
Make another character. Keep James Bond James Bond.