Bond Boss Wants Cary Fukunaga Back, Says Next 007 Is British Male of ‘Any’ Ethnicity or Race
Zack Sharf
Barbara Broccoli shares control of the James Bond movie franchise with her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, which means she’s got a lot of questions to answer about the future of the franchise. Daniel Craig has delivered his 007 swan song with “No Time to Die.” Who will be the next Bond? Those conversations won’t begin until next year, so Broccoli is tuning out all the social media rumors. All Broccoli knows is that Bond will continue to be played by a British male.
“I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond,” Broccoli said in her recent The Hollywood Reporter profile. “I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles. 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. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race].”
Craig won’t be back as Bond, but Broccoli said the door is open for “No Time to Die” helmer Cary Fukunaga to return to the 007 director’s chair. “No Time to Die” earned solid reviews from critics and has grossed $765 million worldwide, making it the biggest box office earner of the pandemic era. While reports surfaced that the film will still lose MGM nearly $100 million, the studio refuted the claim and said the film is bringing in a ton of money on VOD and home video.
“We love Cary. He’s done an exceptional job,” Broccoli told THR. “I don’t have any idea whether he’d do another one. I think he did this because he wanted a challenge, and he sure pulled it off. But I’m not sure if he’d do another one. We’d love to work with him again.”
Fukunaga told the publication that he “never worked with producers that were so creatively involved” until he teamed up with Broccoli and Wilson on “No Time to Die,” adding, “I also knew that going into it, I knew this is their baby. So I came into it very much with the perspective of how can I do my part to try to make this a good film. From the very beginning, we would sit at this round table at the Eon offices on Piccadilly, and Barbara would be getting coffees and teas and food and making sure everyone was fed and at the same time is completely running the meetings with 17 ideas thrown up against the wall.”
Head over to The Hollywood Reporter’s website to read Broccoli’s profile in its entirety.
