Former James Bond Star Joins Calls For A Female 007 (& Volunteers Herself For The Role)

Summary

• Famke Janssen advocates for a female James Bond in
  Bond 26
  .
• Janssen, who played Xenia Onatopp in
  GoldenEye
  , offers to take on the role.
• Janssen has the action movie chops to play the character, but not being British could pose an issue.

One former James Bond star advocates for a female version of the character to come next – played by herself. The movie franchise, which is adapted from the popular espionage books by Ian Fleming, has now run for a total of 25 movies over the course of more than six decades. In that time, six different male actors have taken on the lead role, with the most recent – Daniel Craig – retiring from playing the character after his newest outing in the franchise, 2021’s No Time to Die, leaving behind much speculation as to who will replace him.

Screen Rant had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with Famke Janssen while she was promoting her new movie Boy Kills World. The actor, who played the villainous Xenia Onatopp opposite Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond in the 1995 movie GoldenEye, fiercely advocated for a female version of the superspy to star in the upcoming Bond 26. She also offered her services in taking on the role, teasing that “I’m available.” Read her full quote below:

Female Bond, come on! I’m available. Time for a female.

Famke Janssen Has What It Takes To Play Bond

There Is Still One Big Issue With Her Stepping Into The 007 Role

There are several factors working in favor of the Bond replacement for which Janssen is advocating. For instance, there has been chatter about a female James Bond for some time. In fact Susan Hayward was once considered for the role in 1967’s Casino Royale, though that title was not part of the series from Eon Productions, which is generally considered the official branch of the franchise.

Although rumors swirled recently that Aaron Taylor-Johnson would be taking on the role, there has still been no official announcement as to who will play the next James Bond. This could very well put Janssen in the running to star as the superspy. She has ample experience in the action genre thanks to various roles including Xenia Onatopp, Jean Grey in the X-Men movies, and Lenore in the Taken movies. There is also already a precedent for actors such as Maud Adams and Charles Gray to portray different roles in various movies in the franchise.

Charles Gray played Blofeld in
Diamonds Are Forever
and Dikko Henderson in
You Only Live Twice
, while Maud Adams played Octopussy in
Octopussy
and Andrea Anders in
The Man with the Golden Gun
.

However, the fact that Janssen is Dutch could present a major hurdle for her starring in the lead role in a new James Bond movie. So far, every actor in the lead role has been of British, Irish, or Australian extraction. However, there has also never been a female star in the lead role, so there is no telling how expansive the casting choices could be if such a major change in the character is already on the table.