Barbara Broccoli, a producer in the James Bond film series, has stated that 007 will "probably" never be played by a woman.

Daniel Craig is currently set for his last outing as MI6's finest in the upcoming film, due out sometime in 2020. The producer did, however, address a real problem in the film industry at the moment - the comparative lack of developed female lead characters - which would simply not be solved by shoehorning a woman into James Bond. Broccoli told The Guardian:

"Bond is male. He's a male character. He was written as a male and I think he'll probably stay as a male. And that's fine. We don't have to turn male characters into women."

Instead, she thinks that filmmakers should "create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters". Head meet nail, nail meet head. She would, however, like to see a female director or screenwriter for a Bond film in the future. Cary Fukunaga will take over for the next instalment after Trainspotting director Danny Boyle dropped out of the project due to creative differences. Yeah, that old chestnut. Former Bond star Halle Berry, who played Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in Die Another Day, also said that the role should not be turned female, instead suggesting that a new Bond character could be created especially for a woman. Idris Elba, meanwhile, continues to be tipped as Daniel Craig's successor.