Daniel Craig has waded into the debate about whether or not James Bond should remain a white man, suggesting there is a "simple" reason why the character should.
The actor was the first blond man to depict 007, initially in 2006's Casino Royale. As his time in the role comes to an end, there is a lot of discussion about the next James Bond being female or a person of colour.
Craig added his thoughts on the matter in a recent interview with UK magazine Radio Times.
"The answer to that is very simple," he said.
"There should simply be better parts for women and actors of colour. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?"
Amongst the chatter about who will replace Craig, Bridgerton actor Regé-Jean Page and The Wire's Idris Elba are potential successors.
In 2018, fellow The Wire star Dominic West caused a stir by suggesting the next James Bond should be transgender.
"They should have a transgender Bond because there are a lot of transgender people in the army," West told The Times.
He suggested UK Army officer Hannah Gaf as an ideal candidate for the role, describing her as "a very cool woman" and "a beautiful blonde girl".
Craig's comments echo Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli, who declared in 2018 the character will never be played by a woman.
"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," Broccoli told the Daily Mail.
"Let's just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters."
Craig's upcoming Bond film No Time To Die is his last. It stars Rami Malek as the villain and will be in cinemas next month after substantial delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lashana Lynch, who played Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel, features as a new character named Nomi in the upcoming movie. It's been rumoured Nomi has inherited the 007 callsign following Bond's retirement at the end of Spectre.
