A female James Bond? This ‘Quantum of Solace’ star says no freaking way ⏤ and not that it matters, but Piers Morgan agrees

James Bond has wowed audiences for decades, but should a female version of this iconic character ever exist? One actress doesn’t think so… and some big names agree with her.

Gemma Arterton, who portrayed Strawberry Fields in the 22nd Bond movie Quantum of Solace, said that James Bond should stay a man. She said: “Isn’t a female James Bond like Mary Poppins being played by a man?” She added, “people would find it too outrageous” and “Sometimes you just have to respect the tradition.”

I wouldn’t have a problem with a new Mary Poppins portrayed by a male actor. That actually sounds kind of fun. But it turns out a lot of people think the same way as Arterton. This lengthy Bond debate has been going on for a few years. Gregory Ratoff thought that Susan Hayward could play Bond in Casino Royale. But Ratoff just thought about this casually and hoped that Richard Burton would say yes, which didn’t happen.

Big surprise here, Piers Morgan is bent out of shape about the whole thing. As he put it in his column for The Daily Mail, “create your own bloody spies, ladies.” Alright, Piers, settle down. He added, “the woke brigade will ruin everything that’s good or fun in life.” I’m not even going to touch that one.

It’s hard not to find this inherently sexist and ridiculous. What’s the big deal with a female James Bond? Why not let an actress put their stamp on the beloved franchise? There’s absolutely no reason why a smart, strong woman can’t star in a new entry, hopefully with her own signature cocktail (but not a pink, stereotypically girly one, thanks).

But there is the argument that a female Bond is unnecessary and a terrible idea. As the great Jenna Ortega said in an interview with MTV, “we should have our own” character. She explained, “I don’t want to see like ‘Jamie Bond.” She makes a fair point! Simply putting an actress in this famous role without creating a new, compelling, and memorable character feels like a missed opportunity. Wait, what if Ortega played Wednesday Addams in a new action movie? That feels right.

What does Daniel Craig himself think? He told Radio Times, “Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”

What if there is a female James Bond and new, interesting, meaty roles for women in action movies and other genres? It seems like every day, this same debate rages on online. Every time there’s a fresh Marvel project, people complain that the actors don’t line up with their vision, and there are some problematic racist and sexist comments. Being totally against the idea of a woman taking on 007 just feels wrong. But then again, I’m not sure that this will actually happen.

So let’s just keep actually going to the movies instead of being tempted to always wait for movies to come to streaming services and the work of talented and creative storytellers. There’s no safe bet at the casino royale on who will play the next James Bond. But let’s all take a quantum of solace for now and realize a female Bond wouldn’t make the sky fall.