Daniel Craig Says James Bond Shouldn't Be Played By A Woman

"Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?” Craig, 53, said to Radio Times.

First off, I think that what he said is mostly right. There should be writers and producers out there trying to make a new franchise akin to James Bond that is written expressly for a female lead. Atomic Blonde is a good example of that, especially with the second movie already in production because of the success of the first. More importantly, there should be studios willing to actually promote and greenlight the ones that are good. Plus, the track record of gender-swapped movies is terrible anyway. 'Ghostbusters', 'The Hustle', 'Ocean's 8' recently come to mind as examples. 

On the other hand, I think Craig doesn't totally grasp how difficult of an ask that really is. James Bond is a massive franchise with a built in audience that will get tens of millions of marketing dollars regardless of the individual installment's quality. Out of the 8 movies they released in the 30 years, there are only 3 I would consider good.

It's an international blockbuster that is going to get eyes all over the world! Even if it's a piece of shit! A "new, female-lead equivalent" just isn't going to get that level of exposure or tentpole treatment. Most studios aren't even going to take a chance on it in the first place. This is also working on the assumption that they can simply just make a great movie in the first place.

Also, I do think James Bond can be experimented with to a degree. It's not exactly we're talking about messing around with a pristine franchise of unimpeachable movies. 

And as much as I love Daniel Craig and will always appreciate him starring in what I consider the top-2 Bond movies, I'll always take his Bond opinions with a grain of salt. Don't forget, in 2015 he said he would rather "slash his wrists" than reprise the role, and if he did, it would only be for money. Fast-forward a few years, and he's getting $25 million to reprise it. 

I know it sounds like I'm on both sides of this, but that is because I sort of am. Basically, I don't think gender-swapping will work for Bond. The character is a dude, and a wide majority of the built-in audience for Bond want it to remain a dude. But honestly, I don't care if they do it and it doesn't work! Bond is not an untouchable franchise.  I'll just watch the one that comes out after that, because they won't stop the Bond train for something as simple as a flop.