Halle Berry Sparks Debate After Saying She Doesn't Think It's 'Right' For A Woman To Play James Bond

Ever since Daniel Craig surrendered his "license to kill" following his final portrayal of agent 007 in No Time To Die, there has been ongoing speculation as to who the next James Bond will be.

Idris Elba has been rumored for well over a decade to possibly be the first Black James Bond, but has frequently denied those rumors.

More recently, Aaron Taylor Johnson's name has been actively floating around to possibly be the next 007.

However, there have been several unsubstantiated rumors that the next actor to follow the footsteps of Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig might be a woman.

And it's a rumor that has seen its fair share of supporters—and adversaries.

Interestingly, among those not in favor of a female James Bond is Academy Award winner Halle Berry.

Berry, who played NSA agent Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson in Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan's final outing as Bond, recently shared that she didn't think a female James Bond was the best idea during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival:

"I don't know if 007 really should be a woman.”

“In 2025, it's nice to say, ‘oh, she should be a woman'."

"But I don't really know if I think that's the right thing to do."

Berry's frank opinion on the matter was bound to cause some debate.

However, most people came out in favor of Berry’s stance.

One post on X (formerly Twitter) gave Berry a standing ovation, stressing that the world needs more original roles written for women, not more women taking on men's roles, and has so far received over 260 thousand likes:

Countless others have joined in on this opinion, calling for more strong female roles, and not simply gender-swapping iconic male roles:

Also sharing Berry's opinion was her Die Another Day co-star Rosamund Pike, who played femme fatale Miranda Frost in the film.

In a 2018 interview with Uproxx, Pike expressed her concerns that gender swapping James Bond would not actually be progressive, but would instead simply be giving female actresses "sloppy seconds":

"Why should she have once been a man and now it has to be played by a woman?"

"Why not make a kick-a** female agent in her own right?"

"...you can’t always just flip it and just say, 'Oh, she’s a woman now'.”

"I mean, that’s to underestimate a woman entirely I think."

"There’s nothing really about the James Bond character as written by Ian Fleming that resembles a woman."

More recently, Dame Helen Mirren, currently appearing opposite former Bond Pierce Brosnan in the Paramount+ series Mobland, expressed her displeasure in the idea of a female James Bond, highlighting how sexist the franchise was to begin with, while also pointing out how there have always been invaluable female members of MI6, and those are the stories that should be told.

Mirren said:

"The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism."

"Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been, and very brave."

"So I would tell real stories about extraordinary women who've worked in that world."

For his part, Brosnan has previously expressed that he would be all for a female James Bond, sharing how he thought it might be just the right breath of fresh air the franchise needs:

"Get out of the way guys and put a woman up there."

"I think it would be exhilarating, it would be exciting."

Daniel Craig, however, has agreed with Berry, Mirren, and Pike, saying female actors, as well as actors of color, deserve better:

"Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond for a woman?"

Following the box office success of Die Another Day, as well as her Oscar win for Monster's Ball, there was some talk that Berry might get a spinoff film of her own centered around Jinx.

That film never materialized, and when asked at the Cannes Film Festival press conference if a Jinx film was still a possibility, Berry was less than optimistic, even though she wished it had come to light:

"...I doubt there will be a Jinx spin-off."

"There was a time that that could have happened, probably should have happened."

"I would have loved for that to happen, but I think that time has passed."