The Jewish producer of James Bond has said that the next actor to play the famous agent will likely be announced by the end of the year.
Amy Pascal, who in her own words had a “very Jewish-middle-class" upbringing, told Deadline: “I would say [an announcement by] the end of the year is a good bet.
"We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with Barbara Broccoli at the studio, I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow.
"And it’s got to be something really different that is stirring, exciting and different.”
With casting director Nina Gold responsible for finding the next 007, it seems the wait could finally be over, with the fate of the character uncertain since 2021’s No Time To Die.
Several actors have already been tipped to follow Craig, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson and Sir Idris Elba.
There has also been speculation as to whether the new Bond might break with the pattern of white men playing the title character, which has been the case since the franchise began in 1962.
Debbie McWilliams, who cast the previous 14 Bond films, said the spy should remain white and male.
At the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, earlier in the year, she told Variety: “Ian Fleming wrote a character, and that’s the character that stays. That’s what I think. I mean, other people might think otherwise, but I don’t think that.”
Elba himself told British GQ in June: “Bond is big all over the world. And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a black male, an African male, playing Bond. That’s not what they like in their culture. Period.”
Meanwhile, Trina Parks, who starred in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever alongside Sean Connery, said that Bond, who has famously always been portrayed as somewhat of a womaniser, should be changed to be monogamous.
“Of course I would like them to keep the romance in, but perhaps not give him a multitude of partners,” she said, as reported by the Guardian. “The script really has to reflect the modern world, where women are stronger characters and hold powerful positions.”
Production on the next film, which remains untitled, is set to begin next year.
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