Bond should stay white and male, says casting chief Craig SimpsonSun, July 12, 2026 at 7:57 PM UTC 0 Amazon’s takeover of the franchise precipitated a search for an actor to replace Daniel Craig Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo James Bond must remain white and male, a casting expert for the franchise has said. Debbie McWilliams, who cast the previous 14 Bond films, said Ian Fleming “wrote a character, and that’s the character that stays”. It follows demands for 007 to be reinvented as a woman, or played by a black actor.
Bond should stay white and male, says casting chief
Craig SimpsonSun, July 12, 2026 at 7:57 PM UTC
0
Amazon’s takeover of the franchise precipitated a search for an actor to replace Daniel Craig - Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
James Bond must remain white and male, a casting expert for the franchise has said.
Debbie McWilliams, who cast the previous 14 Bond films, said Ian Fleming “wrote a character, and that’s the character that stays”.
It follows demands for 007 to be reinvented as a woman, or played by a black actor.
Speaking to Variety at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Ms McWilliams said: “Ian Fleming wrote a character, and that’s the character that stays. That’s what I think.
“I mean, other people might think otherwise, but I don’t think that.”
Ms McWilliams says she believes the casting should stay faithful to the character Ian Fleming created - TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy Stock Photo
Ms McWilliams stepped down from her casting duties when MGM and the Bond franchise were taken over by Amazon in 2025, a move that precipitated a search for the new 007 to replace Daniel Craig.
Previous custodians of the character, including Barbara Broccoli, producer of the films and daughter of Cubby Broccoli, the original Bond mastermind, have long insisted that Bond would remain male, although a change of ethnicity was never ruled out.
Advertisement
Amazon’s newly acquired control of the beloved character has prompted speculation that 007 could be reinvented, particularly given that the streaming giant has committed to diverse casting in series such as the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Rings of Power. It has previously been suggested that Bond could be played by Idris Elba.
Pierce Brosnan embodied another side of the character, says Ms McWilliams - 2011 Keith Hamshire
Ms McWilliams, who oversaw the casting of Pierce Brosnan and his successor, Craig, believes that some changes will be apparent in the next iteration of the character – a project that will be led by Denis Villeneuve, the Canadian director.
She said: “It’s about to change dramatically, is all I can say. And I’m not sure whether I’ll be paying my money to go and see it or not.”
Some fans were already unhappy with the characterisation of Bond in the final Craig outing, No Time to Die, which they felt portrayed the cold-blooded spy as overly sentimental.
The search for Bond continues, and auditions are under way, with news expected about the next 007 at some point in 2026. Favourites in the race include Callum Turner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Jacob Elordi, the Australian actor.
Craig was ‘much tougher’, says Ms McWilliams - Film Stills
While no longer responsible for casting, Ms McWilliams said that all Bond actors must share a basic sense of menace. “Part of his job description is [that he has] licence to kill. So you’ve got to think that he could pick a gun up and shoot you.
“So he’s got to have a kind of threat about him, you know. I’m not sure that Pierce Brosnan had that particularly, but he kind of embodied a different side of him.
“He was very good-looking and suave, and all the rest of it. And Daniel sort of changed that, somewhat, into the fact that, you know... he was much tougher.”
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: July 13, 2026 at 12:01AM on Source: RED MAG
#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle