James Bond Producers Confirm Once And For All: He Can ‘Be Any Color,’ But He Will Always Be Male

James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson confirmed once and for all that the titular franchise character can be “any color” — black, white, brown — but he will always be a he.

Speaking with Variety, Barbara Broccoli said that she and her half-brother have agreed there will be no gender-flip for the James Bond series.

“He can be of any color, but he is male,” Broccoli said, as reported by Fox News. “I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.” 

The next James Bond installment “No Time to Die” will be released this coming April and will be Daniel Craig’s last outing as the debonair MI6 agent. Broccoli added that his departure has been “traumatic” for her.

“I’m in total denial,” she said. “I’ve accepted what Daniel has said, but I’m still in denial. It’s too traumatic for me.”

Last year, reports and rumors began to swirl that black-British actress Lashana Lynch would be the next 007 agent in the wake of James Bond’s retirement; however, the Los Angeles Times recently reported that the film’s trailer appears to have dispelled those rumors.

Leading up to the trailer’s release, the film was dogged by multiple leaks and rumors as to how the makers plan to usher the infamously lecherous British spy into the #MeToo era. Lashana Lynch told The Hollywood Reporter recently that making a #MeToo-conscious movie was important to everyone involved in the film’s production. 

“Everyone was really responsive to having her be what I wanted,” Lynch said of her character. “You’re given a fresh perspective on a brand-new black woman in the Bond world.”

“I didn’t want someone who was slick. I wanted someone who was rough around the edges and who has a past and a history and has issues with her weight and maybe questions what’s going on with her boyfriend,” she later added.

Lynch even suggested to screenwriter Waller-Bridge the possibility of a scene in which her character is on her period. “We had one conversation about her maybe being on her period in one scene, and maybe at the beginning of the scene — and I spoke to Cary about this — throwing her tampon in the thing,” said Lynch.

As is the case with every franchise movie, the Bond films live and die by their villains, and “No Time to Die” made the bold choice of featuring Academy Award winner Rami Malek (of “Bohemian Rhapsody” fame) in the coveted role. Though the trailer gave little indication of the villain’s plan or motives, initial reports were that he would be an eco-friendly mastermind. 

“His unnamed nemesis — nicknamed Greenfinger by insiders — has a lair powered by an algae farm and with a Zen garden,” reported The Sun back in October. “As the plot is shrouded in secrecy, it is not clear what the villain is plotting to do or how 007 confronts him. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is so keen to keep the plot under wraps he has reportedly filmed three endings. But an eco-friendly villain would be a Bond first. One theory is that algae blooms can produce deadly toxins.”