The offspring of the legendary James Bond actor, Sir Roger Moore’s son Geoffrey (known as Jaffa) has expressed his opinion about Lashana Lynch donning 007’s mantle. He believes that having a woman playing such an iconic role with popular name recognition only creates uncertainty and confusion among viewers; thusly, he adamantly asserted that female actors should never have been cast in this famous position within the film series.
As Daniel Craig is relinquishing his iconic role as James Bond, the franchise filmmakers are looking to cast a female in the part. Yet Geoffrey, aged 57 years old, believes this would be an awful decision for the movie series.
Jaffa said, “Well, then it’s no longer James Bond. I mean, she could be 006, 008, or 009….”
Fans of the James Bond franchise praised its producers for giving Lashana Lynch’s character Nomi a chance to take up the 007 mantles after Daniel Craig’s James Bond quit M16 and retreated into seclusion. Nonetheless, Roger Moore’s son asserted that this move was an awful idea that created turmoil amongst viewers ahead of No Time To Die’s release.
“In the last Bond, I think this was the confusion. That she [Nomi] was 007 and then said, ‘I’ve got to give it back to Bond. It’s his number.’”
Geoffrey expressed his eagerness to cast a female spy character in the lead role if it were for another movie series other than James Bond 007.
“Maybe there will be a ‘From the filmmakers of James Bond comes Jane or Jemima Bond’ or whatever.”
Geoffrey proclaimed that many women have effectively played parts in spy thriller movies, such as Charlize Theron’s performance in Atomic Blonde. Nevertheless, he remains firm on the notion that Ian Fleming’s Bond should be portrayed by a man due to its iconic status and legacy.
Daniel Craig vehemently declared that a woman should not take on the role of James Bond, further asserting that in the world of cinema, there must “simply be better parts for women.”
Craig stated, “There should simply be better parts for women and actors of color. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
Not only has Craig voiced his opinion that James Bond should be a man, but other female actors have stood in support of him. Halle Berry, who starred as the lead female role in Die Another Day, openly declared her viewpoint on Entertainment Tonight back in 2017: “That series is steeped in history… you know, Ian Fleming’s stories. I don’t think you can change Bond to a woman.”
In 2019, James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli made an appearance on Good Morning Britain and declared that “We have to make movies about women and women’s stories, but we have to create female characters and not just for a gimmick turn a male character into a woman.”
