Helen Mirren says James Bond ‘has to be a guy’ because a woman ‘doesn’t work’

Dame Helen Mirren is all for women taking over the world — just not the world of James Bond.

In a new interview with Saga magazine alongside her Thursday Murder Club costar Pierce Brosnan, the Oscar winner admitted she didn’t think the next James Bond star should be a woman.

“I’m such a feminist, but James Bond has to be a guy,” Mirren declared. “You can’t have a woman. It just doesn’t work. James Bond has to be James Bond, otherwise it becomes something else.”

Mirren, who plays retired spy Elizabeth in The Thursday Murder Club opposite the former Bond actor, noted that her character is a “more realistic” portrayal of a spy. “So many women have worked in that world. She’s a manifestation of a reality, that’s for sure,” Mirren told Saga. “But not so much fun as Bond!”

Brosnan, who starred in four Bond films as the titular character from 1995’s GoldenEye to 2002’s Die Another Day, echoed Mirren’s sentiments.

“I’m so excited to see the next man come on the stage and to see a whole new exuberance and life for this character,” he said.

He went on, “I adore the world of James Bond. It’s been very good to me. It’s the gift that keeps giving. And I’m just a member of the audience now, sitting back, saying: ‘Show us what you’re going to do.'”

Mirren and Brosnan aren’t the first to voice their opinions about who should carry the torch after Daniel Craig donned his bowtie as Bond for the last time in 2021’s No Time to Die. With Craig’s departure and Amazon MGM Studios taking over the new era of 007, casting a new James Bond is a tall order. No announcement has been made yet, but Happy Valley star James Norton, Snowfall’s Damson Idris, Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Regé-Jean Page, Richard Madden, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have all been rumored or fan-cast at one point.

With so many rumors swirling, it’s inevitable that the conversation of whether the character should be a women has been brought up several times — especially after Craig’s Bond (temporarily) lost his 007 code name to Lashana Lynch’s Nomi in No Time to Die.

For anyone wondering if Lynch, whose character was the first Black female 007 agent at MI6, would permanently take over her predecessor’s role, the actress crushed those hopes in January 2024.

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Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love, Lynch revealed that she had only signed to appear in one movie and had not been approached about a potential return.

Questioning if fans would be “ready” for an actress-led Bond film, Lynch shared, “I signed up for one movie. I did one, I literally don’t know anything about the next one. I’ve not had a conversation. So yeah… It’s in their hands. It’s in the franchise’s hands.”

However, Lynch said this more than a year before Amazon MGM Studios gained creative control of the franchise.

While the main star is still a question mark, Amazon MGM has tapped the director. In June, the company announced that French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will helm the next film and serve as an executive producer, alongside Tanya Lapointe. It was previously revealed that Amy Pascal and David Heyman will also serve as producers.

“Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007,” the Dune director said in a statement. “I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor. Amy, David, and I are absolutely thrilled to bring him back to the screen. Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios for their trust.”

Pascal and Heyman also added a note of support, saying in a statement, “Denis Villeneuve has been in love with James Bond movies since he was a little boy. It was always his dream to make this movie, and now it’s ours, too. We are lucky to be in the hands of this extraordinary filmmaker.”

With Villeneuve on board, the search is now underway for a screenwriter, and eventually, the next face who’ll have the license to kill.