Sam Mendes Thinks The Bond Franchise Needs A Woman In The Director’s Chair

In an interview with Deadline, Mendes said he’d very much like to see a female director take a stab at the next Bond movie. 

“I think that the actor playing Bond is going to evolve, the director has to evolve. I think it would be wonderful to see a woman directing Bond. I think it would be wonderful.”

It’s worth noting that the most powerful person in the Bond sphere is producer Barbara Broccoli, so a woman’s voice has been contributing to the direction of this franchise for a long while. But to Mendes’s point, Bond has never seen a female director take the helm, and to quote Lizzo, it’s about damn time.

There’s a whole other conversation to be had about who will be the next Bond, but I do think Mendes is on to something in terms of thinking about the next iteration beyond the dude in the fancy suit. Each generation deserves a Bond to call their own. Craig was a perfect Bond for his era, a post-9/11, more serious take on intrigue and espionage, and he had a bevy of craftsmen to help guide the way in the form of Mendes, Martin Campbell, Marc Forster, and Cary Fukunaga.

Whatever the new Bond turns out to be, I hope the lesson they took from the success of the Craig era is that audiences want something that delivers the action, stunts, sexiness, and charm the franchise is known for, but in a fresh, new way. That starts with a script, continues into the casting, and will be solidified by the director behind the camera.