Former 007 actor Pierce Brosnan is just as in-the-dark as anyone else when it comes to predicting who will take over the role of iconic British secret agent James Bond when Daniel Craig hangs up the tux.
But in an interview with the Press Association this week, Brosnan, who played Bond in four movies from 1995 to 2002, made two predictions about who will take on the role in the next film.
“Anything is possible for sure, but I think he’ll be male and he’ll be white,” Brosnan said.
Speculation has run rampant as to who will take over the iconic role after Craig leaves the franchise (Craig is rumored to be departing the role after the release of Spectre later this year). Some fans have clamored for Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther) to become the first black Bond in franchise history, while Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception) remains bookmakers’ odds-on favorite to take over the role.
Earlier this month, Bond novelist Anthony Horowitz came under fire for suggesting Elba is “too street” to play the debonair agent. Meanwhile, Brosnan says he would welcome a black James Bond.
“There’s wonderful black actors out there who could be James Bond, and there’s no reason why you cannot have a black James Bond,” Brosnan continued. “But a female James Bond, no, I think it has to be male. His name is James, his name is James Bond.”
Brosnan weighed in on Craig’s possible successor earlier this month, telling Details magazine that Elba “certainly has the physicality, the charisma, the presence” to take on the role. Brosnan also suggested he would be open to seeing a gay James Bond at some point, although he added that franchise producer Barbara Broccoli would likely never “allow” a gay Bond to happen in her lifetime.
Meanwhile, Craig still has at least one more film left in him: Spectre hits theaters November 6.